InfieeHoiis  and  Syntax 


O  RT  E  D' A 


1  -.ftiuaiMfS 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


THE 

Inflections  and  Syntax 


OF  THE 


MORTE    D'ARTHUR 

OF 

SIR  THOMAS  MALORY 


A  Study  in  Fifteenth-Century  English 


BY 


CHARLES    SEARS    BALDWIN 

TUTOR    IN    RHETORIC   IN    COLUMBIA    COLLEGE    AND    INSTRUCTOR    IN   ENGLISH 
LITERATURE    AT    BARNARD    COLLEGE 


BOSTON,  U.S.A. 

GINN    &    COMPANY,    PUBLISHERS 

1894 


Copyright,  1894 
By  CHARLES  SEARS  BALDWIN 


ALL  kk;hts  reserved 


C        C         t      ft      *  C 


t   t       life      ^      <     ,        S       ,   <     ' 


!     '''     ''•     '     c' 


,y  CONTENTS. 


il 


j 


PAGES 

PREFACE  v-vii 

ABBREVIATIONS    AND   BIBLIOGRAniV ix-x 

f  Inflection  i-6 

NOUNS { 

[  Syntax u-io 

^                                        f  Inflkctidn  10-13 

«<\  ADJECTIVES-^ 

•<^                                        I  Syntax 13-16 

""  "^                   •                    f  Inflection  16-20 

PRONOUNS . J 

(^Syntax -i-33 

'  Inflection  —  Strong  Verbs 34-52 

Weak  Verbs 52-54 

Present  and  Preterit  54-5^ 

Anomalous  Verbs  58-59 

Preterit-Present  Verbs 60-62 

Syntax 62-107 


VERBS  ^ 


PREPOSITIONS 10S-128 

CONJUNCTIONS 12S-143 

APPENDIX \ 145-148 

INDEX 149-1  56 


_4 


PREFACE. 


The  linguistic  value  of  the  Morte  d' Arthur  is  equal  to  its 
literary  value.  The  latter  has  been  appreciated  as  deeply, 
if  not  yet  as  widely,  as  it  deserves :  it  is  the  aim  of  the  pres- 
ent work  to  realize  the  former.  Malory's  book  is  the  type 
of  the  transition  period  between  Chaucer  and  Spenser,  of 
the  progress  of  middle  English  toward  modern  English. 
As  such  it  deserves  closer  study  than  it  has  hitherto  re- 
ceived. In  the  only  works  that  treat  specifically  of  this 
period  it  has  been  lumped  with  other  Caxton  prints  with- 
out respect  to  the  unique  claims  of  its  unprovincial  and 
scholarly  character.  Moreover  the  results  obtained  from 
a  general  examination  of  what  has  been  called  loosely  the 
language  of  Caxton  are  quite  insufficient.  Romstedt's 
valuable  Englische  Schriftsprachc  bei  Caxton  treats  only  of 
phonology  and,  less  completely,  of  inflections.  The  general 
survey  of  Caxton 's  inflections  and  syntax  prefixed  by  Dr. 
Leon  Kellner  to  his  edition  of  Caxton's  BhuicharJyu  an  J 
Eglafitine,  though  often  useful,  is  fragmentary  and  inad- 
equate. Thus,  for  instance,  no  complete  tables  of  strong 
verbs  have  yet  appeared,  and  in  syntax  no  discussion  of 
the  auxiliaries.  Even  the  subjunctive  and  infinitive  have 
been  treated  but  imperfectly,  and  the  particles  hardly  at  all. 

To  develop  a  coherent  account  of  the  syntax,  particularly 
of  these  neglected  points  of  syntax,  is  the  primary  concern 
of    the    present    work.       The    presentation    of    inflections, 


vi  PREFACE. 

though  it  aims  to  be  exhaustive,  is  intended  mainly  to 
make  sure  this  discussion  of  the  syntax.  Back  of  both  Ues 
phonology ;  but  since  Romstedt's  best  work  was  done  here, 
and  since  here  the  individual  value  of  the  Mortc  d' Arthur 
is  slightest  —  if,  indeed,  it  is  definitely  ascertainable  —  the 
discussion  of  phonology  has  been  made  subordinate  and 
incidental.  The  only  deviation  from  this  rule  is  the  inquiry 
into  the  syllabic  value  of  the  plural  -cs,  which  has,  therefore, 
been  relegated  to  an  appendix. 

By  limiting  the  discussion  to  one  great  text  and  to  one 
main  line  of  investigation,  it  has  been  possible  to  attain 
some  degree  of  completeness.  Moreover  the  collation  of 
contemporary  texts  becomes,  in  great  part,  a  cumbrous 
catalogue  of  dialectical  variations,  much  more  valuable  for 
phonology  than  for  syntax.  Simplicity  is  perhaps  preferable 
to  completeness  of  this  sort.  Yet  a  series  of  interesting 
parallels  from  The  Wrighfs  Chaste  Wife  has  been  added 
in  foot-notes.  This  text  was  chosen  as  being  in  several 
respects  antithetical -to  the  Alorte  d'Ai-thiir.  It  is  non- 
C'axtonian  ;  it  is  non-literary,  being  a  somewhat  rude  pop- 
ular ballad  ;  and  it  is  provincial,  being  southern  in  dialect. 
Thus  its  divergences  and  its  correspondences  are  equally 
significant.  Other  parallels  have  been  drawn  for  points  of 
special  significance  or  difficulty,  from  Chaucer  and  from 
Shakspere.  But  no  attempt  has  been  made  at  complete- 
ness in  this  regard,  since  the  arrangement  of  the  book  is 
designed  to  facilitate  reference  and  comparison. 

For  such  reference  and  comparison,  indeed,  the  book 
aims  to  be  of  service,  not  only  to  those  engaged  on 
the  language  of  the  fifteenth  century,  but  to  all  students 
of  English  syntax.  How  far  presentations  of  our  modern 
syntax  have  been  confused  by  ignorance  or  misapprehen- 
sion of  its  historical  development  is  painfully  apparent. 
Even  now  historical  syntax  has  gone  but  a  little  way.     To 


PREFACE.  vii 

the  small  but  happily  increasing  number  of  students  in  this 
field  I  shall  be  grateful  for  corrections  and  suggestions. 

Citations  from  the  Morte  d' Arthur,  whether  single  words 
or  passages,  are  uniformly  distinguished  by  italics.  But 
in  citations  of  any  length  the  particular  word  in  point  is 
emphasized  by  difference  of  type.  The  references  are  by 
page  and  line  to  the  reprint  of  Caxton's  Malory  edited  by 
H.  Oskar  Sommer,  and  published  by  David  Nutt.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  add  that  but  for  this  great  text  the  present  work 
would  have  been  practically  impossible,  and  to  acknowledge 
the  incidental  assistance  of  Mr.  Sommer's  notes  and  glossary. 

In  its  original  form  this  book  was  written  as  a  disserta- 
tion in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  at  Columbia  College.  The  succes- 
sive expansions  of  the  work  have  left  me  more  and  more 
deeply  indebted  alike  to  the  kindness  and  to  the  scholar- 
ship of  Professor  Thomas  R.  Price.  To  Professor  G.  L. 
Kittredge,  of  Harvard  University,  I  owe  many  valuable 
iiotes  o7i~the  manuscript,  and  to  Professor  A.  V.  \V.  Jackson 
and  Professor  Henry  A.  Todd,  of  Columbia  College,  the 
favor  of  corrections  in  proof.  1  am  under  obligations,  also, 
to  Miss  Sadie  E.  Bawden,  of  Smith  College,  and  to  Miss 
Ellen  A.  H'unt,  of  Barnard  College,  for  the  accuracy  of  the 
citations  and  the  index.  To  all  these  friends  I  desire  to 
express  my  sincere  appreciation. 

From  this  grammatical  study  as  a  necessary  point  of 
departure,  I  hope  to  proceed  with  such  annotations,  literary 
and  critical,  as  may  make  some  of  the  best  books  of  the 
Morte  cV Arthur  available  for  class  use. 

Charles  Sears  Baldwin. 
Columbia  College,  April,  1S94. 


ABBREVIATIONS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


References  to  Sltaks^ere  SlXQ  to  the  lines  of  the  Olobe  text ;  refer- 
ences to  Bacon,  unless  otherwise  specified,  to  the  Golden  Treasury 
edition  of  the  essays  (Macmillan).  The  incidental  parallels  from  De/oe 
are  cited  from  Hallantyne's  Edinburgh  edition,  1810. 


Abbott,  A  Shakespearian  Grammar,  by  E.  A.  Ab- 

bott (Macmillan);  cited  by  section. 

C.  7\,  Chaucer's  Canterbury  Tales,  the  Six-Text 

Edition  of  the  Chaucer  Society.^ 

E.  E.^y  Early  English. 

F.J\ii  .  Modern  French. 

G.,   ''  Modern  German. 

Goth.,  Gothic. 

Kellner,  Caxton's  Blanchardyn  and  Eglantine,  ed- 

ited by 'Dr.  Leon  Kellner,  Early  English 
Text  Society's  Publications,  Extra  Series, 
Iviii ;  preface  cited  by  page  and  section. 

Kellner,  Outlines,  Historical  Outlines  of  English  Syntax,  by 

Dr.  Leon  Kellner  (Macmillan);  cited 
by  page. 

M.  Dii.,  Middle  Dutch. 

M.  E.,  Middle  English. 

mod.  E.,  Modern  English. 

O.  E.,  Old  English  (Anglo-Saxon). 

O.  E,  Old  French. 

O.  JV.,  Old  Norse  (Icelandic). 

1  Refereiices  to  other  Chaucerian  poems  are  given  in  full. 


X  ABBREVIATJOXS  AND   BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Romstedt,  Die  englische  Schriftsprache  bei  Caxton,  Her- 
mann Romstedt,  Gottingen,  1891  (gekronte 
Preisschrift) ;  cited  by  page  and  section. 

Sie'i'crs,  Angelsachsische  Grammatik,  Edouard  Sievers 
(Halle,  Niemeyer)  ;  translated  by  Albert  S. 
Cook  (Boston,  Ginn  &:  Co.) ;  cited  by  section. 

Sommcr,  Le  Morte  Darthur  by  Syr  Thomas  Malory,  the 
ori£:inal  edition  of  William  Caxton  now  re- 
printed  and  edited  by  H.  Oskar  Sommer 
(London,  David  Nutt);  vol.  I,  text;  vol.  H, 
introduction,  glossary;  vol.  Ill,  study  of  the 
sources ;  text  cited  by  page  and  line. 
sy  Strafmann,  A  Middle-English  Dictionary,  by  Francis  Henry 
Stratmann,  new  edition,  revised  by  Henry 
Bradley  (Oxford,  Clarendon  Press). -^ 

Ten  Brink,  Chaucers  Sprache  und  Verskunst,  B.  Ten  Brink 
(Leipzig,  Weigel). 

W.,  The  Wright's  Chaste  Wife,  edited  from  a  MS. 

in  the  Library  of  th^  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury (circ.  1462),  by  Frederick  S.  Furnivall, 
Early  English  Text  Society's  Publications, 
xii ;  cited  by  line. 

1  References  to  other  dictionaries  need  no  specification. 


NOUNS. 


THE    PLURAL. 

Plural  in  -s. 

1.  Barytone  stems  in  -/,  -;/  and  -;-  invariably  make  the 
plural  in  -s.  ^ 

French  :  qiiarels^  cantcls,  pcryls,  vuvitels :  vwntayns^  rt'gyons, 
cotirteyns,  cosyns ;    saiiours^  colours,  profers,  prysoners. 

English  :  sadds,  handels,  appels ;  tokens,  maydens,  chyckefis  ; 
ausuers,  sholders,  elders,  hunters,  faders. 

(a)  Some  barytones  in  -k  and  -/  also  make  the  plural 
in  -s  :  biittoks,  carryks,  fytloks ;  varlcts,  brackets,  buffets ;  and 
also  felaushyps. 

Plural  in  -es. 

2.  The  -cs  plural  persists  for  the  great  majority  of  nouns.' 

Plural  in  -ys  (-is). 

3.  The  proportion  of  -ys  {-/s)  variants  is  about  five  per 
cent. 

(a)  The  different  books  vary  in  the  proportion  of  -ys 
plurals.  Book  XXI  has  five  per  cent.;  Book  XVII  has 
only  about  two  and  one-half  per  cent. ;  but  Book  VI  has 
eight  per  cent.  The  following  is  a  list  of  all  -ys  (-is) 
plurals  occurring,  pp.  273-688,  and  725-838  (VIII-XVI, 
and  XVIII-XX,  inclusive):  Instrumentys,  276.31,  458.3; 
frendys,  308.17;  barrys,  326.24;  cracky s,  326.25;  warris, 
328.9;  amendys,  359.5,  506.30;  learys,  371.4;  erys,  371.4: 
trainys,    378.22;     tentys,    410.27,    734. 28;     gatnys,    352.20; 

'  See  Appendix. 


2  .VO  Ux\S  —  THE  PL  URA  L . 

pappy  s,     354.16;    pccys,     420.14;     bcndys,     431.27;     iua//ys, 

441.18;  thretys,  457-3  i;  A^'^'O-*', /"'^J-S  477-5;  '^J'«0'-f,  487- '3; 
Itistys,  515.1;  lystys,  523.5;  ivedys,  539.11;  cofup/ayntys, 
562.31;  expencys,  585.24;  offencys,  603.19;  fdys,  641.36; 
mem  brys,  649.34;  ilanc/i\  s,  673.28;  perys,  7  2  8 . 2  7  ;  per/j  's, 
741.6;  turnefncntys,  763.25;  barhys,  764.32;  herbys,  773.31; 
sygncttys,  783.26;  baiidys,  804.9;  sarpys,  822.30;  /w/ys, 
822.32;   lordis,  829.23;  spccry  ■$,  837.19;   rest}  'S,  837.20. 

Of  these  nouns,  12  are  in  -/,  7  in  -;-,  6  in  -d,  4  in  -/,  3  in  -c; 
2  each  in  -;;,  -/',  aiul  -/,  i  each  in  -;//,  -/•,  and  soft  -g. 

As  for  the  tonic  accent,  most  are  oxytone.  There  are 
two  paroxytones  {incnibre,  sygnct),  and  two  proparoxytones 
{instrumeut,  turucnioit)^  both  of  which  probably  had  in  the 
plural  a  secondary  accent  on  the  last  syllable. 

(b)  The  -ys  {-is)  variant  in  the  genitive  and  the  plural  of 
nouns  is  to  be  compared  with  the  -rr,  -yst  of  adjective  com- 
parison (§  T^-^),  the  adverbial  -ys  in  cllys,  the  verbal  -yd  of 
the  weak  pret.  and  ptc,  and  the  parallel  forms  -yiige  and 
-cngc  of  the  pres.  ptc.  Cf.  also  the  nouns  sadcl  and  sadyl, 
coupel  and  coupyl,  kyrtlc  and  kyrtyl,  cedlc  and  sedyl,  Safer 
and  Safyr,  Hongre  (Hungary)  and  Hofigry} 

Plural  Invariable. 

4.  As  in  Chaucer,  an  apparent  invariable  plural  occurs  in 
many  phrases  with  numerals,  where  it  represents  an  older 
genitive  : 

(a)  fixoncth,  in  twch'c  tnoficth,  etc.;   elsewhere  monethes. 

(b)  nyght,  mfourten  nyght,  207.26;   and  sevcti ny-ipe,  771.28. 

(c)  pound,  in  an  honderd pound,  177.28. 

(d)  wyfiter,  in  t/ire  honderd  7vynier,  645.6  ;  but  many 
7vynters,  635.30. 

(e)  yere,  m  fouriy  yere,  694.20;  te?i  yere,  721.33,  etc.; 
but  many  yeres  agonc,  705.15. 

1  \V.    wondyr,  chambyr,  tymbyr,  monyth,  swyngylle,  hungyr,  hosylle. 


NOUNS—  THE  PLURAL.  3 

{i)    f adorn,  in  ten/adotii,  784.11. 

(S)    fny^<^i  in  seven  myle,  229.11.^ 

Besides  these  Chaucerian  forms,  the  following  occur  in 
the  Morte  d' Arthur : 

(h)    cast,  in  tioo  cast  of  brede  (bread),  234.8. 

(i)  coupe/,  in  thyrtty  coupe/,  355.33.  Cf.  also:  Thenne 
cam  thefourc  sones  by  coup/e,  154.29,  which  seems  to  indicate 
that  the  plural  form  is  independent  of  the  numeral. 

5.  The  Chaucerian  invariable  plurals  that  are  not  to  be 
explained  as  genitive  survivals  appear  in  the  Morte  d^Art/iur 
as  follows  : 

(a)  _/(V-^' occurs  beside  _/(V/('6-j' and  yi^Z/'t'.-  a// fo/kes,  262.13, 
their fo/ke,  693.14. 

(b)  good  survives  :  ye  sha//e  fynde  there  good  oute  of  uombre, 
168.28.  But  goodes  also  occurs:  tJie  thyrd  parte  of  their 
goodes,  525.2. 

(c)  hors,  always  makes  plural  horses. 

(d)  licet,  sheep  and  swifi  do  not  happen  to  occur, 

(e)  thynge,  appears  beside  thy  ages:  a/  maner  of  t/iynge, 
228.27  ;  ^^^'^  thynge  that  he  thought  on,  708.6  ;  to  (two) 
thynges,  723.16. 

6.  As  in  Chaucer,  French  nouns  ending  in  a  sibilant  are 
invariable  in  the  plural :    mareys,  harneys,  etc. 

Plural  in  -en. 

7.  Of  Chaucer's  -cji  plurals  only  bretheren,  chi/dren,  eyeti, 
oxen,  and  kyen  appear  ;  but  two  anomalous  cases  deserve 
citation  : 

1  It  is  hard  to  tell  whether  tydynge  is  regarded  as  a  singular  or  as  a 
plural  in  the  passage:  Whatitie  the  7vord  and  tydynge  came,  120.35. 
(See  Stratmamt.)  Tydynges  is  common.  W.  has:  "Glad  was  \izX 
lady  of  that  tydyng,"  571.  In  the  phrase  XN  fote  long,  cited  by  Kellner, 
I,  3,  p.  X,  fote  is  plural,  not  singular.  The  case  is  exactly  parallel  to 
those  cited  above. 


m 


"*  ,,    ,.-   thai  Ions'"  '"  ""  """'"■  "^ 

tr;;r;le;::ocon.s.nV,*.eoMe..n.o..e 

forms  may  be  cUalectiosurvvals. 

THE   GENl-nVE. 

Genitive  in  -s.  ^^^^^_ ,  ^^^^^.  ^,^,^^^^  „,,   genitive 

8    Barytones   m  -'.  -'  • 

'";;e„cir..— ''''-■^■'--^ 

wynters.  .  ,     ^oper  nouns  in  -d  usually 

(a)   ^■--^'^^'^TV    i'^*  /'"«'^'  -"""•"•  '        ' 
malie  tlie  genitive  '"  '' ■ 

'tr  Mfn;t:p--^^  -^^  ^'-  "^" '"  ^^"■'"  ■'"  '^^ 

rrTl^tntl:^-"  oC  t,.  .  .emtive  appears  in 
.;,;^.  (708.9)  and  C„n*(8...30- 

Genitive  in  -es.  ^^.^  ^^^lue  of 

9.    The  discussion  "'^'^  ^f  J^^^'^o 'to  the   genitive 

::ri:'«ir:rr.^^:s--^^^^^^ 

kynges,  arowes,  etc  excrescent  -.,  makes  genitive 

^randr,,..  -"--;-  — :r  ^y  ..o  ^es 
'''!Jtrni--narescoUe<i>nV,,V,Xand 

occur  m  the  on  ^^^^^  ^^^y^_ 

XVII.     VIII  and  IX  na\e  Lv 


NOUNS— THE    GENITIVE.  5 

Genitive  Invariable. 

10.  The  genitive  sign  is  often  omitted  in  tlie  following 
cases : 

(a)  When  the  noun  ends  in  a  sibilant :  ^  Jiors  croupe, 
341.30;  Hcrmamu'c  dctJic,  522.13;  the  abhcssc  chamber, 
612.30;  Patryse  dctJu\  ■j2)2,-^2>-  ^^"^  Gahcrysc  wordcs,  \o\.2, 
and  Gaheryses  shchl,  401.26,  occur  on  the  same  page,  and 
there  are  other  exceptions,  as  Patryccs  tombc,  736.19. 

(b)  when   the  succeeding   noun   begins  with    a  sibilant : 
Kyng  Lott  of  Orkeney  sone,    108.32;     /a   bcalc    Isoitd  sake, 
559.11.       Cf.    Accohni    s-wcrd,    130.12.    with    AccoIons    hand,     ^ 
130.19. 

On  the  other  hand,  7C'Oodes  syde,  745.24;  E/yses  soiie, 
486.32;    Galy/iodyns  spere,  492.26;  forests  syde,  392.32. 

(c)  in  nouns  of  kindred  :  '  of  fader  syde  and  moder  syde, 
280.34;  syster  children,  299. 38  ;  brother  chi/dren,  306.14. 
Cf.  Sievers,  285.  But  aside  from  these  set  phrases  the 
nouns  of  kindred  usually  take  the  -s  genitive. 

(d)  in  a  few  cases  that  seem  to  be  survivals  of  the  U.  E. 
weak  feminine  genitive:   our  lady  daye,  7 38. 12;   Jierte  blood,    / 
682.2;   herte  rote,  798.4;    herte  wylle,  855.2.      It  is  not  easy     x. 
to  distinguish  such  cases  from  ordinary  compounds. 

The  F.  noun  rauni^e  seems  to  make  an  invariable  genitive     \ 
in  the  phrase  at  the  raunge  cnde,  481.10. 

Chaucer  has  "lady  grace,"  "  herte-spoon,"  "  widow  sone," 
"  Sonne  upriste  "  {Morris,  xxxiii,  2). 

(e)  in  a  few  unexplained  cases,  usually  where  the  genitive 

is  separated  from   the  noun   it  modifies :    Of  foseph  kynne,     > 
94.11;   this  hehne  is  syr   Gareth  of  Orkeney,   262.25    (where      v 
Wynkyn  de  \^^orde's  edition  omits  helme) ;  sir  hnmcelot  owne     \ 
hvid,  829.33;  for  tlty  sake  and  for  syr  Gaioayne,  207.11.     In 
this  last  case,  however,  the  explanation  may  lie  in  the  force 

1  W.    For  Ihesus  loue,  471 ;  by  his  hows  syde,  523. 

2  Cf.  Chaucer's  "fader  day,"  "  doughter  name,"  etc. 


6  NO  UXS  —  S  yWTAX. 

of  ihe  fo?-.  Cf.  I  pray  you  hcrtcly  to  be  my  good  f rend  and 
to  my  sones,  406.27,  where  the  construction  changes  in  a 
similar  manner;  and  a  similar  case  with  pronouns:  to  your 
7iiorshyp  and  to  lis  a/,  250.3. 

The  Dative. 

11.  The  -c  of  the  dative  singular  is  no  longer  distinguish- 
able as  a  case  sign.     vSee  the  examples  under  §  20. 

Graphical  Variations. 

12.  The  neutral  e  of  a  derivative  suffix  sometimes  appears 
as  a  or  as  y. 

(a)  -ar  for  -cr :  Iitsfar,  441.29;  7cy//<7rs,  465.15;  caiisar, 
269.21;  daggar^  \G(i.\c)\  lyttar,  473.1.  C"f.  mod.  E.  "liar" 
{/yar,  6iS.2o).i 

(b)  -a/iov-id:  )nyiistral. 

(c)  -byl  iox -ble :  concstabyl,  469. S. 

13.  The  syncope  seen  in  the  plural  of  Chaucerian  nouns 
in  -cl  and  -cr  seems  to  have  extended  in  the  singular.  But  it 
appears  as  a  mere  graphical  variation  :  sabcl  and  sable,  sedyl 
and  cedte  ('  schedule  '),  noinber  and  nombrc.  So  anger,  angre; 
honger,  hongrc ;  sholder,  sholdre ;  sklaunder,  sklaundre. 

SYNTAX    OF    THE    NOUN. 

14.  Abstract  nouns  are  sometimes  used  in  the  plural : 
letc  vs  two preue  cure  strengthes,  193.32;  doo  you  seruyse  as 
maye  lye  in  oure  powers,  251.3;  to  redrcsse  the  harmes  and 
scathes  that  he  had  of  them,  464.13;  as  it  pleased  them  bathe 
at  tynics  and  leysers,  474.34;  she  chaunged  thennc  her  colours 
and  for  70 rathe  she  niyght  not  spckc,  550.21  ;  aUe  men  —  spake 
of  the  beaute  of  dame  Elayne  and  of  her  grcte  Rychesses, 
581.24.      So  goodnesses,  304.3S;   inyrthes,  500.1. 

1  W.   carpentar,  586. 


NOUNS  — SYNTAX.  7 

V 

(a)    Bitryellys,  S51.11,  may  show  simply  the  persistence 

of  the  O.  E.  singular  "birgels."  Resanacs,  also,  may  be 
due  to  the  M.  E.  singular  "  rescQus  "  (O  F.  rescousse)  :  7ae 
luil  do  rescowes  as  we  can,  373-3 1  ,  whan  Gryjiet  sawc 
rescowes  he  smote,  etc.,  55.35.  Spyrytiieltecs  is  used  of  con- 
secrated ground:    lete  bery  Jiyvi  —  in  the  spyrytueltees,  724.9. 

15.  A  plural  often  takes  a  singular  article  or  demon- 
strative, to  show  that  it  is  considered  collectively.  This 
usage  appears  constantly  in  many  common  phrases  with 
numerals:  this  thre  niyle,  igo. 33  ;  this  seucn  yere,  igg.13; 
a  XXX  greete  knyghtes,  206.14;  a  foil rty  yere,  6g4.2o;  an 
eyght  dayes,  694.2S;  a  ten  or  tweliie  knyghtes,  704.6;  this 
s  ha  I  be  my  two  gyftes,  216.23. 

16.  The  reminiscence  of  the  partitive  genitive  with 
numerals  (§  4)  appears  curiously  in  sporadic  cases.  Thus 
the  ordinary  eyght  score  hclmcs,  191. 10,  is  followed  in  the 
next  line  hy  f 01/ r  score  0/  he/mys,  igi.ii.  Cf.  also  XXX 
conpy/ houndes,  6^.T,o. 

17.  The  familiar  construction  of  the  genitive  in  an  re- 
phrase, where  the  genitive  is  apparently  expletive,  occurs 
freely:^  a  hiyghte  of  the  dnhes,  37.7;  a  knyife  of  Kynge 
Arthurs,  263.31. 

18.  When  a  noun  is  modified  by  a  genitive  on  which  an 
rephrase  depends,  the  order  is  usually  as  in  the  following: 
the  queues  broder  of  Irland,  2  7g.i6  (i.e.,  the  brother  of  the 
queen  of  Ireland);  the  lordcs  cosyn  of  this  place,  39S.27. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  modern  form  appears :  Ky/ige 
Faramon  of  Fraunces  doughter,  279.32.*  A  further  variety 
appears  in  at  the porche  of  the pauelions  dore,  36.30. 

1  A'cltner,  I,  5,  c,  p.  xix,  has  an  elaborate  discussion  of  this  con- 
struction. 

^  Kelhier  (p.  cviii)  cites  two  cases  of  this  construction  from 
Elanckardyn. 


8  NO  UNS  —  S  YNTAX. 

19.  A  single  survival  of  the  genitive  with  an  adverb  of 
time  appears  m  forth  dayes  (late  in  the  day),  804.19. 

20.  The  dative  survives  in  the  following  constructions: 

(a)  Dative  of  Indirect  Object:  ^af  /mu  kyug  Lott,  54.18; 
promyscd  hit  kynge  Arthur,  1 14.30;  I  dyd  ticucr  this  knyght 
no  harm,  205.14;  he — made  hit  and  taughtc  hit  an  harper, 
457.35  (but  in  the  very  next  line,  he  taughte  hit  to  many 
harpers)}  Similar  is:  I  had  assygyied  my  lady  to  haite  slepte, 
etc.,  1S9.10. 

The  indirect  object  with  tell  is  kept  in  the  passive:  Thenjie 
was  hit  to  hie  the  queue,  ZZ'^-ZZ- 

(b)  Dative  with  Impersonal  Verbs  (rare):  So  the  kynge 
seffied  7'ery/y  that  there  eame  syr  Gazvayne  unto  hym,  844.14; 
//  lyked your  hyhenes  to  graunte  me  my  bone,  276.10;  sir  Bors 
semcd  that  there  eame  the  udiytest  douue  (dove),  579.16. 

(c)  Dative  of  Interest  (rare) :  the  /aye  that  sire  Dynadan 
made  kynge  Alarkc  (i.  e.,  in  disparagement  of  King  M.), 
45S.1;  /  saued  Alysaunder  his  lyf,  469.22;  these  traitours 
slezve  one  of  Sadoks  eosyns  a  grete  wou)id  in  the  neek,  495.8. 
Ihesu  forgyue  it  thy  soiok,  812.28  ;  there  7uas  none  of  the 
tzoelue  that  myghte  stande  sir  hiuncelot  one  buffet,  803.10. 

21.  The  Adverbial  Objective  is  confined,  in  the  main,  to 
phrases  of  time:  Thenne  stood  the  reame  in  grete  ieopardy  hnig 
whyle,  40.3;  /  haue  fohnved  that  best  kvig  tymc,  65.38; 
hurlynge  tyke  ttao  bores  the  space  of  two  houres,  226.36.  In 
the  following,  the  lyf  is  probably  a  phrase  of  time:  and  ye 
wylle  fyghte  —  ye  shall  be  delyucrd — and  els  ye  escape  neuer 
the  lyf ,  127.23.      Cf.  §  22  b. 

22.  Apposition  shows  some  noteworthy  peculiarities: 
(a)    Apposition  occurs  occasionally  where  a  single  noun 

and    a    modifier    might   be    expected :    sore    I  am   of  these 

1  The  /<?-phrase  occurs  occasionally  where  even  mod.  \i.  has  preserved 
the  dative;  toldc  to  Lucius  (Caxton's  Rubric),  11. 12. 


NO  UNS  —  S  YNTAX.  9 

queues  sonxrcsscs  a/en/,    187.27;    f/ic  mescreaunts   Sarasy/is,^ 
465.20. 

(b)  The  following  cases  are  perhaps  to  be  explained  as 
partitive  appositions  :  to  enoy/itc  the  maymed  kynge  both  his 
legges  and  alle  his  body,  720.7  (but  kyuge  may  be  a  dative); 
syr  lucan  took  up  the  kynge  the  one  parte  and  Syr  Bedwcre  the 
other  parte,  848.5;  wcl  armed  and  horsed  and  7uorshipfuIIy 
bysene  his  body,  253.18;  he  shal  haue  bat  ail  of  7ne  his  fylle, 
569.32  ;  a  man  of  kynge  Euehiks  was  smyten  his  hand  of  (off), 
626.1 5  ;  Ishold ske  the  myn  07vne  handes,  556. 1 1 .  Some  of  these 
cases,  perhaps  all,  may  be  explained  as  adverbial  objectives. 

(c)  Apposition  in  the  genitive  assumes  almost  invariably 
the  following  form :  his  broders  sheld  syr  Lyonel,  185.6;  my 
two  bretheren  sheldes  syre  Ector- — and  syr  Lyonel,  196.4; 
your  broders  dcthc  the  bhtck  knyghte,  224.34;  on  the  nioder 
syde  Igrayne,  65.5;  by  my  fader s  soule  Utherpendragon,  70.10. 
Cf.  §  18.  Sometimes,  however,  the  following  form  occurs: 
the  good  knyghtes  sir  ATarhaus  seate,  424.5. 

(d)  The  ordinary  apposition  with  of  in  the  case  of  names 
of  places  {the  Cyte  of  Sarras,  706.13)  shows  a  curious 
extension  in  one  instance,  which  may  be  a  misprint :  the 
good  knyghte  (of)  syre  Gawayne,  244. 1 8. 

23.  The  use  of  nouns  as  verbs  points  toward  the  freedom 
of  the  Elizabethan  habit:  thou  cou rages t  me,  282.26;  they 
tvotd  not  wrathe  them,  374.18;  they  peaced  them  self,  405.31 
(possibly  a  verb  from  F.  apaiser.  See  Stratmann,  paisen); 
the  queue  had  mayed  (i.  e.,  gone  maying),  773.30;  for  to 
strengthe  the  dethe  of  the  queue,  810.27  (possibly  due  to  loss 
of  -n  from  strengthen.     See  Stratmann,  s.  7\). 

24.  The  construction  with  the  noun  maner  is  in  a  state 
of  transition.'^ 

^  Rbmstedt,  p.  38,  regards  mescreaiitits  as  an  adj.  with  the  Romance 
plural  -s. 

^  For  further  explanation  of  this  construction  see  Kcllncr,  I,  5,  p.  xvii. 


10  ADJECTIVES. 

(a)  Chaucer's  usage  survives:  al  inaiicr  tJiyuge,  1 18.31; 
in  this  manerc  wyse,  74.22;  what  inaner  knyghtc,  262.21;  in 
that  majicr  clothing,  856.9. 

(b)  But  usually  mancr  is  followed  by  an  ('y'-phrase.  The 
two  constructions  occur  side  by  side  in  the  following: 
allc  manerc  rules  and  games  7vith  al  manere  of  mynstra/sy, 
271.25. 

25.  I'he  nouns  jncrucylle,  nede,  pyte.,  reson  and  wonder  are 
used  in  the  predicate  with  the  force  of  their  corresponding 
adjectives. 

(a)  Merueylle  me  thynketh  —  zu/iy  ye  rebuke,  225.4;  //  is 
merueill  that  ye  make  suche  shameful  70a r re,  235.10;  //  icas 
merueil  to  here,  251.28. 

(b)  soeouf-e  me  for  noiv  it  is  nede,  706.35;  ////  is  none  nede 
to  telle  yf  they  were  glad,  717.7. 

(c)  hit  7vas  pyte  to  here,  850.5;  //  7vas  pyte  on  to  behold, 
58.9;  grete  pyte  //  was  of  his  hurte,  94.13. 

(d)  to  yelde  vs  vnto  hym  it  were  no  reson,  200.37. 

(e) '  //  was  wonder  to  telle,  53.31.  Wonder  is  also  used 
attributively:  a  wonder  dreme,  52.35;  a  wonder  turnement, 
689.8. 


ADJECTIVES. 


26.  Such  distinctions  of  inflection  as  survived  in  the 
Chaucerian  adjective  are  in  the  Alorte  d' Arthur  completely 
blurred,  not  so  much  through  the  loss  of  -e  where  it 
belongs,  as  through  the  addition  of  -e  where  it  does  not 
belone:. 


'b* 


1  W.  shows  an  adverbial  use  of  wonder :  A  ivoiutyr  strange  gyle,  93. 
Cf.  also  the  use  oi  payne :  Me  thynlcetli  yt  gret payne,  339. 


ADJECTIVES.  11 

Plural  -e. 

27.  The  plural  rarely  occurs  without  -(',  even  in  the  case 
of  paroxytone  adjectives:  siibtyle  craftes,  207.23.  But  the  -e 
may  be  dropped  at  random:  al  ladycs,  197.3;  /lis  good  dcdes, 
219.29.  Compare  y^^/z/'f'  queues,  212,19,  with  y?v/;-  knyghtes^ 
203.28.  Moreover,  -c  appears  in  the  singular:  shrcwde 
herberowe,  2>1S'1- 

Weak  Inflection  -e. 

28.  Again  the  -e  is  rarely  absent  where  Chaucer's  adjec- 
tives assume  it  to  mark  the  weak  inflection.  But  compare 
the  fayre  fancoii,  20S.16,  7uith  your  fair  felauship,  213.33;  at 
the  thyrd  stroke  lie  sleice  the  thyrdde  theef,  219.22. 

Vocative  -e. 

29.  The  vocative  usually  shows  -;'.•  fayre  syre,  235.25; 
yonge  knyght,  2S2.13;  hut  fayr  knyghte,  22  \.2i,\fals  traitresse, 
294.27;  A  my  tytel  so!u\  274.10. 

30.  The  adjective  intiection  ^  in  the  Alorte  d' Arthur  \\\\\ 
be  summarized,  then,  as  follows : 

(a)  The  vast  majority  of  adjectiv^es  show  -e  in  all  connec- 
tions. 

(b)  The  inflectional  significance  of  -e,  if  not  lost,  is  at 
least  plainly  fading." 

^  For  the  survival  of  the  strong  genitive  phiral  altlier  see  §  71.  A 
Romance  plural  in  -cs  occurs  at  514-31  :  Iciiyglites  erratottes ;  but 
knyghtes  erraiint  occurs  on  the  next  page,  515.18.  Romstedt  (p.  38) 
cites  two  Romance  plurals  in -jr.'  most  valyaunts  men,  83.31,  and  the 
mescreaimts  Sarasyns,  465.20.  The  former  is  probably  a  contract  super- 
lative, the  -/  having  been  dropped  by  the  type-setter  (see  §  36).  The 
latter  may  be  a  case  of  apposition  (see  §  22,  a). 

-  The  same  wavering  appears  in  t'^e  adverbial  -c :  yll{e),  240.23,  223.25; 
streyght(e),  213.32,  241.32;  toiig(€),  204.14,  232.15. 


12  ADJECTIVES. 

31.  The  -y  variant  found  in  the  -ys  noun  plural,  the  -yd 
preterit,  etc.,  appears  also  in  the  adjective.  Thus  we  find 
annen  and  comyn  (common),  often  and  ofty?icr,  tender  and 
tendyrly,  /)'/<?/ and  h'tyl,  unable  and  iinahyL     Cf.  §§  12,  c;  33. 

32.  The  comparative  and  superlative  show  the  regular 
-cr  and  -est.  The  comparative,  as  in  Chaucer,  shows  no 
inflection.  The  remarks  in  the  foregoing  sections  apply  as 
well  to  the  superlative  as  to  the  positive, 

33.  A  variant  -yr  for  -er  in  the  comparative,  and  -yst  for 
-est  in  the  superlative,  occurs  very  rarely:  ?-cnfu/lyr,  425.16; 
strengyst,  69.3;  gentelyst,  390.13;  fress/ieyst,  763.23.  Cf. 
§§  12,  c.  31. 

(a)  Another  rare  variant  in  the  comparative  is  -ar :  lyggar, 
96.25;  eldcu;  105.23.      Cf.  §  12,  a. 

34.  Far  re  makes  comparative  ferther  and  further ;  yll, 
7verse^  superlative  7verst ;  lytel,  /esse  and  tasse,  superlative 
/est;  hyghe  (Jiyhe),  hyhcr;  longe,  lenger,  superlative  lengest; 
strong,  superlative  strengest.  Old  shows  eldest  and  oldest  in 
the  same  sense.  The  superlatives  vttermest  and  fomiest 
persist  without  variation.  Nere  survives  as  comparative 
adverb,  with  ere  and  the  superlative  erst. 

35.  Dissyllabic  and  even  trisyllabic  adjectives  take  the 
-est  superlative:  fa?nousest,  278.22;  7vorshipfi(llest,  210.18. 
A  similar  habit  in  the  comparative  appears  in  abeler,  658.1. 

36.  These  longer  adjectives,  however,  when  they  end  in 
a  sibilant,  and  even  in  other  cases,  often  make  a  contract 
superlative  :  per y  Ho  us  t.,  merueyllonst  (7tierueyllest),  orgulist, 
enrteyst  {eurtest),  myifest,  gentylst,  lylaynst.  Even  monosyl- 
labic adjectives  sometimes  contract  to  avoid  the  repetition 
of  sibilants:  fycrst,  irovafycrs  (fierce). 

1  Comparative  werre,  87.30,  may  be  a  misprint,  but  cf.  O.  N.  verre. 


ADJECTIVES  — SYNTAX.  13 

Adverbs. 

37.  Adverbs  in  -ly  from  proparoxytone  adjectives  in  -ous 
sometimes  appear  in  contract  forms :  fcUoynsly  {fenoynous), 
traytoiirsly  {traytonroiis).  In  lycoios  (for  Iycou7-ous),  771.34, 
the  contraction  appears  in  the  adjective. 

.  38.    Tlie  adverbial  (genitive)  -cs  (ju/iy/es,  724.36)  appears 
very  rarely  with  an  excrescent  -/.•  w/iylcsf,  229.1. 

39.  The  -cr  comparative  is  used  freely :  a  rycher  bcsene 
chamber,  126.11;  bare  hym  backer  and  backer,  t^z^i. 22;  smote 
hym  harder  and  sorer,  413.4;  neuer  were  there  foure  knyghtes 
euener  matched,  486.16. 

40.  The  comparative  -cr  and  the  superlative  -est  are 
sometimes  added  even  to  -ly  forms :  there  luas  neuer  kynge 
— fa  Is  Iyer  nor  traitonrlyer  slayne,  520.10;  there  was  neuer 
no  lady  tnore  rychelyer  bysene,  580.33;  suche pcplc  as  he  myght 
ly^tlyest  re  re,  120.21. 

41.  The  double  comparative  is  common  :  he  foiighte  more 
lyker  a  gyaunt,  218.2. 

SYNTAX    OF    THE   ADJECTIVE. 

42.  The  double  comparative  and  superlative  are  com- 
mon :  more  gladder,  more  leuer,  more  hardyer ;  moost  royallest, 
moost  shame/ullest,  moost  lordlyest. 

(a)  Except  in  these  double  forms,  the  inore  —  fnost  com- 
parison appears  very  rarely:    7nore  hyghe,  222.16. 

43.  The  construction  exemplified  by  Milton's  "fairest  of 
her  daughters,  Eve,"  appears  in  thou  art  fayrest  of  a  lie  other, 
435.25;  cf.  also  A^07v  shalle  cucrychc  of  vs  (three)  chese  a 
danioysel.  I  shalle  telle  yow  sayd  syre  V^vayne  I  am  the 
yongcst  and  7noost  weykcst  of  yow  bothe,  therfor,  etc.,  144.27. 


f 


14  ADJECTIVES  —  SYXTAX. 

44.  The  superlative  is  used  occasionally  in  comparisons 
of  two  :  as  for  sir  laiDicclot  and  sir  Tristram  —  the  ivcrst  of 
than  7ii<iUe  not  be  h'gh{te)ly  matched,  439.16. 

45.  The  use  of  adjectives  as  nouns  is  not  so  extensive 
as  in  Chaucer,  being  confined  in  the  main  to  adverbial 
phrases :  at  eertayn,  in  certayn,  in  close  ('  secretly '),  v?ito  the 
7vers,  at  her  large  ('at  liberty'),  on  al  fotire  ('on  all  fours  '). 

.  (a)  Sometimes  a  freer  use  appears:  thcr  kicked  nothyng 
that  myghtc  be  goten  of  tame  nor  wyld,  268.21;  tho7a  shalte 
haiie  many  fehnces  and  thy  betters,  663.25. 

•  46.  Of  adjectives  used  in  pairs,  one  often  stands  after  its 
noun,  with  the  indefinite  article  repeated :  an  horryble  dede 
and  a  sha7nefHl,  211. 13;  a  passyng  fayr  hxdy  and  a  yonge, 
1 1 7.9;  a  fit  fair  maner  {^T[i2,x\ox')  and  a  ryche,  126.34;  a 
grete  woimde  and  a  peryllons,  412.25. 

47.  Hoote  is  used  sometimes  w-ith  the  plural:  the  hoole 
barons,  53.25. 

48.  More  is  used  of  quantity,  size,  etc.;  mo,  of  number. 
He  seyth  lytyll  and  he  doth  moche  more,  124.15;  7uylle  ye  more, 
591.14;  make  tho7v  no  more  /angage,  827.20;  mo  other  honndes, 
125.24;  many  mo,  163.25;  mo  men,  590.35. 

(a)  The  adverbial  use  seems  to  be  confined  to  7nore:  the 
more  bcholdyng,  640.11;  chafed  more  than  he  ought  to  be, 
653.26;  he  ranne  vpon  hym  more  and  more,  675.26. 

(b)  Moche  and  inoost,  as  well  as  more,  are  used  of  size, 
strength,  rank,  etc.,  in  the  sense  of  'great':  this  moche  yong 
man,  2  13.3 1 ;  more  of  ('  in  ')  prowesse,  80.27  ;  a  more  myght, 
298.3^;  my  most  foo,  ?>o.io\  the  moost  charge,  ^6?>.^. 

1  W.  If  he  myght  ower  gete  owte 
Att  hole  lesse  or  mare,  320. 
Lasse  occurs  in  the  sense  of  'fewer':  t/tere  ivas  fuvie  0/ t/icm  both  that 
tiad  lasse  woiuides  tliaii  XV,  591.20. 


Si'XTAX   OF   THE   ADVERB.  15 

49.  Other  is  used  sometimes  in  the  sense  of  'different": 
he  is  al  another  7iiaii  than  ye  7C'em%  163.1  ('very  different 
from   what   you   think');    another   inane?-  knyght  than   euer 

^^''"  ^»  35 1 •4- 

(a)    The  ordinal  use  of  other  survives  in  one  passage :   he 

rode  a  tie  the  other  ('  second,'  '  next ')  daye,  243.14.^ 

50.  Set/  has   sometimes  the   sense   of  '  same  ' :    the  self  . 
daye,   722.29. 

51.  Sitche,  when  used  with  a  noun  accompanied  by  a 
numeral,  commonly  stands  before  the  numeral:  siiehe  two 
don^ty  hnyghtes,  220. 28;  c(.  also  snehe /yfty  as  ye  he,  167.15; 
suehe  fyiie  as  ye  and  I  be,  426.38. 

SYNTAX    OF   THE   ADVERB. 

Adverbial  Suffixes. 

52.  The  most  important  suffixes  are  as  follows : 

(a)  -feld,  blyndefeld. 

(b)  -forth  (occasionally  used  as  an  adverbial  suffix):  the 
swan  is  ichyte  withouteforth,  682.19;  they  on  kyng  arthurs 
partye  kepte  the  syege  luith  lytel  7i'arre  withoutforth,  aiid  they 
withinforth  kepte  theyr  7oa//es,  836.27. 

(c)  -hand,  enen  hand  ('quits  '),  nerehand,  afore  hand. 

(d)  -longe,  endelonge. 

(e)  -\ynge., /iatlynge,  groiielynge,  noselynge,  sydelyng,  poy/ite- 

b'^ige^  578-2- 

(f)  -ward,  ageyjiward,  awey  7oard,  oute  7uard,  thens  7C'ard, 
westward,  7uhether  7uard  ('  whither  '). 

(i)  IVard  often  stands,  by  a  sort  of  tmesis,  after  the 
noun  of  a  prepositional  phrase:  to  the  zvor/d  icuird,  720.19; 
to  hym  7va?-d,  27.17;  oner  see  7vard,  33.26;  to  the  deth  ward, 
70.27. 

'  \V.  Than  yt  fell  on  I>at  olier  ('second')  daye,  205. 


16  FRONO  Ui\'S  —  PERSONAL. 

(2)  The  contraction  southard,  i53-8)  serves  to  indicate 
the  pronunciation. 

(g)  where  and  whyle  (sometimes  used  as  adverbial 
suffixes):  wyde  where,  other  zvhyle,  thcr  why  lei/). 

(h)  The  suffix  -ly  having  both  adjective  and  adverbial 
force,  adjectives  in  -ly  make  no  change  for  the  adverbial 
use:  he  7vas  cowardly  led  aivey,  146.38;  /  slewe  hym 
knyghte/y,  223.17;  thanked  her  goode/y,  264.31;  she  ansuerd 
— fill  loomanly,  103.14;  gyrdels  —  semely  wroiighte,  699.27. 

Relative  Adverbs. 

53.  The  relative  adverbs  (originally  interrogative)  are 
where,  wherin,  wherof,  wherewith,  where/or,  where  thurgh, 
7cihere  vpon,  wheiis,  luhydder,  etc. 

(a)  The  redundancies  fivm  wheus  and  of  whens  are 
common. 

(b)  There  as  and  there  are  used  as  relative  adverbs :  the 
place  there  she  lay,  95.22;  the  other  parte  ihere  as  the  hede 
stak,  248.32.^ 


PRONOUNS. 


PERSONAL  PRONOUNS. 

54.    /,  thou,  tho7v,^ 

my,  myn{e)  thy,^  thyn{e), 

me.  the. 

we,  ye, 

our{e),  ours,"^  your{e),  yours, 

us.  you,  yow. 

1  For  conjunctive  adverbs  see  under  Conjunctions. 

2  W.  owrc.  3  ^v.  also  thmvc  and  \>i. 


PKOA'O  UXS  —  PERSONAL.  1 7 


he, 

shc^- 

it,  hit,^ 

his,  hys, 

Jicr,  hers, 

his, 

hyni ;  ^    - 

hir,  hyr  ;^ 

it,  hit  {hyni) ; 

they. 

theirie),  theyr{e),  her,^ 

the??!,  hevi,  (theym).'' 

55.  My,  though  commonly  attributive,  is  sometimes 
predicate.      Ours  is  pi"edicate. 

56.  With  very  few  exceptions,  the  distinction  is  kept 
between  the  nominative  ye  and  the  objective  yoi/.'  In  the 
following,  the  first  you  may  be  a  dative  of  interest :  thcrfore 
chese  yon  whiche  of  yon  shalle  c/itre- — fyrste,  349.20.  There 
are  no  plain  cases  of  objective  jr.      Yours  is  predicate. 

57.  The  neuter-genitive  his  is  rare,  its  place  being  sup- 
plied by  the  definite  article  or  the  adverb  therof:  there  came 
a  fygur  ill  lykenes  of  a  chyld,  and  the  vysage  was  as  reed  — 
as  oiiy  fyre,  719.8;  foiide  the  tombe  of  ky?ige  Bagdemagus,  but 
he  was  founder  th^r oi  foseph  of  Armathyes,  716.16. 

58.  The  use  of  hym  with  reference  to  antecedents  with- 
out life  requires  full  citation  :  that  rynge  encreaceth  my  beaute 
mochc  more  than  it  is  of  hym  self  257.30;  the  pomel  was  of 
stone,  and  there  luas  in  hym  alle  inanere  of  colours,  692.  iS;  as 
for  this  suerd  there  shalle  neuer  man  begrype  hym,  692.31. 
Beaute  is  an  O.  F.  feminine  ;  pomel  is  an  O.  F.  masculine  ; 

1  W.  also  hynie  and  in  two  cases  hem.  ■*  \V.  yt. 

2  W.  schc.  5  \Y_  also  they,  and  her  only  once. 

3  W.  also  herre.  ^  W.  hetit  and  t//a/ii. 

,  "  Kellner  (p.  xiii)  cites  eight  cases  of  nom.  yoit.  Seven  occur  in 
imperative  phrases,  and  of  these,  six  are  in  the  phrase  wete  you  we/e. 
The  seventh  is  at  255.16,  sef/d  you  vjito  syr  Persaitnt.  The  remaining 
case  is  in  a  conditional  clause;  but  you  spede,  206.6.  In  all  these 
cases  I'l'w  is  used  for  the  second  person  singular.     W.  has  two  cases. 


IS  PR  ONO I  W'S  —  DEMO  A 'S  TRA  TI VE. 

sucrd  alone  is  an  O.  E.  neuter  {sivcord,  swyrd).  Since  all 
three  would  be  regarded  as  neuter  in  English,  the  cases  may 
indicate  a  provincial  survival  of  the  neuter  dative.  They 
suggest,  however,  anomalous  confusion  of  genders. 

59.  Anomalous  confusion  of  genders  appears,  at  any  rate, 
in  the  following  passages :  thoiiie  sJioId  yc  pcrysshc  the  s/iyp 
for  he.  is  so pa/fytc  he  wylk  suffrc  no  syniicr  in.  hym,  692.5 
(O.  E.  Slip,  strong  neuter);  aiioiic  as  Abel  had  receyucd  the 
dcthc  Tiider  the  grcne  tree  he  lost  the  grene  coh^ur  and  hecam 
reed,  696.29  (O.  E.  treow,  strong  neuter);  the  shyp  was  anone 
shonen  in  the  see,  and  he  wente  soo  faste,  etc.,  699.10;  here 
with  the  this  holy  7'essi/.  l-'or  this  nyght  it  shalle  departe  — 
for  he  is  not  serued — to  his  ryghte,  719.38  (O.  F.  vessel, 
masc.) ;  ^cente  7'nto  the  grete  stone,  and  he  was  so  heuy  that  an 
C  men  myght  not  lyfte  hyt  7/,  125.5.  Less  significant  is: 
a  Faueon  — feioe  unto  the  el?ne  to  take  hex  perehe  —  she  henge 
by  the  legges  —  syre  lainieelot  saiue  how  he  henge,  208.14,  15. 
Cf.  also :  tJie  ehyiialry  hath  ben  at  alle  tymcs,  soo  by  the 
fratcrnytc  whiche  was  there  that  she  myght  not  be  ouereojnen. 
For  men  sayd  she  luas  founded  in  pacyenec  and  in  hmnylyte, 
668.33  (chevalerie  is  a  F.  feminine);  lone  is  free  in  hym  selfe, 
and  neuer  wille  be  bounden,  762.22.  (It  is  possible  that 
personification  is  intended  in  some  of  these  cases.) 

DEMONSTRATIVE   PRONOUNS. 

60.  that,^  pi.  tho;  this  (phys),  pi.  these"^  {this{e)). 

61.  The  plural  tliis{c),  (thyse)  is  rare  :  ye  may  not  leiie  this 
adiientiires,  105.1 ;  this  englyssh  men,  840.31 ;  alle  thise  landes, 
520.15;   this  two  tnettc,  626.2. 

i  Thct,  at  196.28,  may  be  a  survival  {Ronistcdt,  p.  42),  or  it  may  be  a 
misprint. 

2  W.  also  ikes,  but  the  case  is  doulnful :  what  doo  t/ies  meyny  here, 
58 5,  wlicre  "meyny"  is  a  collective  singular  with  a  plural  verb. 


PR  ONO  UNS  —  RELA  TI I  'E.  1 9 

62.  Ronistedt  cites  from  the  Fourc  Souiws  of  Aymon  one 
case  of  thilk  and  one  case  of  the  plural  thoos  (p.  41), 

RELATIVE    PRONOUNS. 

63.  The  simple  relatives  are  that,  whii/u\  w/idt,  [70/10'] 
7l'/ios,  7C'/ioos,  7i'/iom{c),  the  7vhichc,  7vhethcr. 

64.  The  compound  relative  forms  are  as  follows : 

(a)  compounds  with  that :  7uho  that,  7ohos  that,  7uhiche  that 
(that  that),  70 hat  that. 

(b)  compounds  with  as:  that  as,  7L<hcthcr  as. 

(c)  compounds  with  so  {sod),  so  cncr,  sonicucr:  7uho  so, 
7vhat  so,  7C'hat  soo  eucr,  7uhat  sonicucr,  7uhom  someucr,  etc. 

(d)  compounds  with  that  and  cucr,  etc. :  7ohat  that  ci/cr, 
7vho  so  that. 

65.  That  is  by  far  the  commonest  simple  relative,  the 
other  forms  occurring  with  comparative  infrequency,  and 
the  nominative  7oho  not  at  all.  Who  does,  however,  occur 
as  a  general  relative  in  the  sense  of  'he  that,'  or  'whoever': 
7a ho  is  afcrd  let  hyi/i  Jtec,  226.3. 

66.  Whether  is  a  general  relative,  meaning  'whichever 
of  the  two,'  and  is  very  rare:  there  7vitJi  a  tie  7oas  wade 
hostage  on  bothe  partyes  —  that  whether /(?/'-/)'  had  the  vyctory, 
soo  to  e/ide,  463.6. 

67.  The  7vhiche,  though  comparatively  infrequent,  still 
survives,  probably  through  the  influence  of  Y .  lequel,  which 
gave  it  birth. 

68.  The  form  that  that  is  hardly  parallel  with  the  others. 
It  is  a  mere  periphrasis  for  7(i<hat  (that  which),  as  its  compo- 
sition implies,  and  occurs  very  rarely :  mnv  I  see  that  that 
hath  ben  my  desyre,  723.8.-' 

1  W.  All  that  that  ys  here-yn,  393. 


20  FR  Oi\0  L  'NS  —  IJ\  'DEFIXI TE. 

69.  Whether  as  is  very  rare.  It  is  used  in  the  sense  of 
'whichever  of  the  two':  7vhether  as  hym  lyst  hym  self, 
230.15. 

INDEFINITE    PRONOUNS. 

70.  The  indefinites  are  all  (a/),  bathe,  eeJione,  eiicryche, 
ei/eryehofie,  eyther,  )icythei\  !>ie/i,  uobody,  one,  none,  ony,  other, 
sonune. 

71.  The  strong  adjective  genitive  plural  of  al  appears 
once  :  //  is  hym  self  hvni^e  Arthur  our  alther  /lege  Io/-il,  13  4.1. 
This  represents  Chaucer's  "alder"  in  "alderbest,"  "  alder- 
werst,"  "alderfirst."  ^  Chaucer's  more  regular  form,  "aller" 
("  oure  aller  cok,''  C.  T.  823),  has  disappeared.^ 

72.  Bothc  makes  an  anomalous  genitive  to  agree  with 
our  at  98.8  :    to  our  bothes  destruetion.      Cf.  §  8G. 

73.  The  indefinite  nie  has  disappeared,  and  men  is  re- 
garded as  a  plural  {men  sayen,  men  eallen,  etc.).  But  men 
saith  occurs  once,  136.13;  and  man  once:  the  largest  handed 
that  e Her  man  sa7C'e,  213.27.^ 

74.  Other  has  plur.  other  invariably. 

75.  Som7ne  is  still  used  in  the  singular  in  the  sense  of 
'any,'  'a  certain':  wha)i  a  good  knyghte  doth  soo  wel  vpon 
somme  day,   260.25. 

1  Cf.  "mine  alderliefest  sovereign,"  Henry  6,  pt.  II,  I,  i.  2S. 

2  A  half-survival  appears  in  two  cases :  lie  tJiat  7i.his  alle  ota-e  leder, 
585.10,  753.26.  Defoe  has  "for  all  our  advantages."  Captain  Singleton, 
I,  vii,  p.  157. 

3  The  case  cited  by  Kellner  (p.  xlvii)  is  doubtful:  a  man  told  me  in 
the  castel  of  four  stones  that  ye  were  dclyuerd  &^  that  man  had  sene  you 
in  the  court  of  kynge  Arthur,  83.3.  That  before  the  second  7nan  may 
be  a  demonstrative,  in  which  case  the  second  7nan  would  have  the  same 
sense  as  the  first. 


FI^O.VOUAS  —  SY.VTAX.  21 

SYNTAX    OF    THE    PRONOUN. 

Personal  Pronouns. 

76.  The  plural  forms  of  the  second  person  are  used  com- 
monly for  the  singular.  Singular  and  plural  forms  are  often 
used  indiscriminately  in  the  same  passage :  wc  vndcrstaiide 
your  worthynes  that  thou  arte  the  noblest  knyghf  tyny/ii^,  187.1.^ 

77.  After  the  distributive  eiiery,  the  plural  of  the  third 
person  is  often  used  loosely  for  an  indefinite  singular :  eiiery 
man  losed  other  of  their  boundes,  196.16;  euery  knyghte  wente 
their  way,  401.35." 

78.  In  rare  cases  the  ^^-phrase  displaces  even  the  pro- 
noun genitive :  they  made  grcte  loye  of  the  cojuynge  of  hym, 
780.13;   the  scuUe  of  hyi/i,  S43.10;   the  cors  of  her,  856.31." 

79.  The  redundant  partitive  genitive  in  an  cy-phrase  is 
already  common:  a  fe/aiue  of  myiie,  193.24;  a  woode  of  his, 
695.29;  a  eosiii  of  hers,  701. 38.  Cf.  also:  of  four e  of  hetn 
he  brake  their  baekes,  191.19. 

Note.  —  Kellner  (p.  .vxxvi,  d)  remarks  :  "//;>  instead  of  the  genitive 
inflexion  is  very  rare,"  and  cites  four  cases.  Of  these  the  one  from 
Blanchaydyn  (48.35)  and  the  one  from  Charles  the  Crete  (28. i)  seem 
indisputable.  The  two  from  the  Morte  d\4rtk!ir,  however,  are  open 
to  objection.     They  are  as  follows: 

(l)  this  lord  of  this  castel  his  name  is  syr  Damas,  126.27.  (Jf  this 
Kellner  himself  remarks  that  it  is  "not  exactly  equal  to  a  genitive."  It 
is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  many  instances  of  transition  syntax.  The  ordinary 
construction  would  be  the  lordes  iiaiue  of  this  castel  is  syr  Damas  (see 
§  18).  But  this  construction  was  beginning  to  fade,  and  there  are  one 
or  two  instances  of   the   mod.   E.   order  {kynge  Faramon   of  Fraiinces 

1  W.    For  godys  loue  change  thy  mode. 

Forty  marke  schalle  be  yoitre  mede.  1 56. 

2  W.   Euerych  in  ther  manere,  58S. 
^  Cf.  Kellner,  p.  xvi,  4. 


22  PR  ONO  UNS  —  S  YNTAX. 

daughter,  279.32).  Meantime  loose  and  tentative  makeshifts  like  the 
above  appear  for  a  season.  The  sentence  cannot  fairly  be  said  to 
indicate  a  substitution  of  his  for  the  genitive  infle.xion.  It  is  simply  an 
anacoluthon. 

(2)  For  the  fyrstc  kiiyghte  his  hers  stumbled,  220.30.  This  again  is  a 
case  of  anacoluthon,  as  appears  from  the  context :  Aud  the  last  knyghte 
by  myshap  thou  caviyst  behynde  hym.  In  both  cases  the  noun  knyghte 
is  loosely  separated,  in  the  enumeration,  from  the  construction  of  the 
rest  of  the  sentence.  It  is  possible  also  thatyi;;-  is  not  a  conjunction, 
but  a  preposition  (see  §  332.2). 

80.    The  Dative  Case  appears  as  follows : 

(a)  Dative  of  Indirect  Object:  he  took  it  hym,  263.1;  he 
—  by  take  hit  me,  673.28;  there  were  brought  hym  robes,  92.20; 
there  7vas  7ione  that  wold  behote  hym  the  lyf^  284.33. 

(b)  Dative  of  Interest:  7vho  shall  kte  me  blood,  706.1;  to 
lette  hym  the  passage,  220.13;  7nade  hym  a  targe  ivouiide, 
176.27;  sane  me  that  h/iyghtes  lyf,  646.14;  he  commanded  hym 
the  wyii,  35  I.I ;  a  knyghte  —  withhelde  her  a  lie  her  landes^' 
480.16;  syr  Pelleas  was  soo  strange  there  myght  but  feiae 
knyghtes  sytte  hym  a  buffet  with  a  spcre,  159.20;  yf  thou  mayst 
stande  me  thre  strokes,  283.4. 

(c)  Dative  with  Adjectives  and  Interrogatives  and  the 
Verb  to  be:  whether  is  me  better,  87.22;  hytn  lothe  were, 
230.3 1 ;   //  7vere  me  leuer,  1 2 1 .3 1 .^ 

But  this  construction  is  visibly  fading.  More  frequently 
appears:  thou  7ciere  better,  264.8;  lothe  I  were  to  slee  the, 
203.17  ;  Gareth  is  to  me  more  leuer,  269. 11  ;  /  had  (§  245,  a) 
leuer,  229.4. 

1  W.  The  good  wyfe  rawte  hym  a  rocke,  503 ;  Gold  and  syluer  they 
me  brought,  589;  Mete  and  drynke  sche  hym  bare,  244.  But  also  :  Syr, 
and  I  graunte  that  to  you,  301. 

-  Defoe  shows  some  interesting  survivals :  "  killed  them  abundance 
of  men  between  decks,"  Captain  Singleton,  I,  xi,  p.  255  ;  "wounded  us 
a  great  many  men,"  Memoirs  of  a  Cavalier,  p.  51;  "killed  us  about  a 
hundred  men,"  ibid.  p.  1S9.  {Bohn's  edition). 

3  W.  hym  was  full  fayne,  66 ;    Better  is  me  thus  to  doo,  383. 


PR  ONO  UNS  —  S  YNTAX.  23 

(d)  Dative  with  Impersonal  Verbs  (see  §  312).  The 
commonest  collocations  are:  Die  forthyuketh^  713.23;  me 
sejtiet/i,  202.30;  i/ie  repcnteth,  185.25;  ///(•  bchuiidh,  187.5; 
how  lykcth  ycnu,  215.26;  Jiym  happetid,  200.2;  hym  bescmcth, 
220.4;  hym  lyst,  230.15;  hym  ucded,  216.35;  ^'y'"  fkoi/ghf, 
184.5. 

(e)  For  the  gradual  change  to  the  personal  construction 
see  §  312  a.  But  for  the  fading  of  this  dative  cf.  also: 
it  pleasyd  to  her,  255.15;  now  bcfallcth  it  to  vie,  191.26; 
a  tady  soo  h-dde  the  where  thou  semyd  thy  broder  was  shiyne, 
682.25;  eil  thyiige  that  to  hym  iieded,  278.15. 

81.  The  confusion  of  cases  that  appears  in  Elizabethan 
English  is  as  yet  barely  apparent:  neiier  fiian  but  he,  42.4; 
110  mo  but  thou  a /id  I,  326.10;^  made  hym  passyngc  good 
chere  and  wel  casyd  bathe  his  hors  and  he,  1 12.30.     Cf.  §  56. 

82.  A  pronoun  subject  is  often  omitted  when  it  can  be 
supplied  readily  from  the  context:  the  whiehe  greued  his 
herte,  and  [he]  promysed  to  reuenge  his  broder,  185.8;  and 
launceh/t  after  hym  icith  at  his  myi,t  and  [he]  smote  hym,  etc., 
199.7;  and  there  were  brought  hym  robes  to  his  pleasyr,  and 
[they]  wold  haue  hail  Baleii  leue  his  swerd,  92.22." 

83.  A  pronoun  subject  is  sometimes  repeated  redun- 
dantly:  the  black  knyghte  70 i thin  an  houre  and  an  half  he  fette 

1  Kellner  (p.  xiii,  b)  gives  cases  from  other  works  printed  by  Caxton. 
At  p.  XV  he  generalizes  so  far  as  to  say  that  ''  Inct  and  sauf  don't  govern 
the  accusative  as  prepositions,  but  are  followed  by  the  nominative,  as  if 
they  were  conjunctions." 

W.  Lett  no  man  wete  butt  tcv  two,  302  ;  "\'heue  me  some  mete  —  of 
that  the  wyfe  iv  brought,  492.  Confusion  of  cases  may  lie  at  the 
bottom  of  the  following:  Or  ellys  to  deth  mutt  ?ne,  432.  The  equiva- 
lent of  this  curious  construction  occurs  several  times  in  the  poem.  It 
may  be  based  on  an  anomalous  or  dialectic  use  of  niotc  and  moste.  Cf. 
Yet  must  7's  worke  for  owre  mete,  48 1. 

^  Cf.  Kdlticr,  p.  x.xxii,  e. 


24  PRO  NO  UNS  —  S  YA'TAX. 

dounc^   222.24;    t/ie  hcrtc  whaniie  he  is  old  he  waxcth  yonge 
ageyne,   703.20.^ 

84.  Furthermore  the  reference  of  pronouns  is  often  care- 
less, confused  and  ambiguous :  Jie  lystned  and  herd  an  hors 
come,  and  one  rydynge  vpon  hym,  and  tvhanJic  he  cam  nygh  he 
semed  a  knyghtc.  And  soo  he  Ictc  hym  passe,  and  wente  there 
as  the  shyp  ivas ;  and  t  lie  re  he  alyghfe,  and  take  the  sadel  and 
the  hrydcl  and  pntte  the  hors  from  hym,  etc.,  708.21. 

85.  Prolepsis  sometimes  occurs :  aspyed  hym  what  he 
had  done,  210.30;  beheld  hym  how  he — lusted,  261.24. 

In  the  following  the  pronoun  subject  is  both  proleptic 
and  expletive:  he  7C'as  the  founder  therof  Joseph  of  Armathyes 
sone,   716.16. 

86.  The  distinction  is  firmly  kept  between  the  partitive 
construction  with  numerals,  etc.,  and  the  construction  of 
simple  agreement.  Thus,  e.  g.,  twelue  of  them,  but  always 
alle  they,  7ve  alle,  you  bothe,  etc.,  never  all  of  them,  bothe  of 
you,  etc.  Note  the  following :  that  one  spere  hath  feld  vs 
al  foil  re,  204.27;  they  sayd  a  I,  2  04. 28:  and  they  7i.<cre  syxc 
mo,  220.16;  they  bledde  bothe,  223.31;  of  they r  bothe  sonnves, 
(Caxton's  rubric);  ye  al  Ba?vns,  39.29;  yet  were  they  fyfty 
M,  53.13;  both  they  had  jnany  wonndes,  11 1.25;  with  his  both 
handes,  444.36.^ 

87.  The  simple  personal  pronouns  are  still  in  active  use 
as  reflexives,''  but  the  intensive  forms  are  far  more  common 
than  in  Chaucer.  I  fele  myself — wery,  543.20;  I  enforce 
my  selfe,  544.10.  The  two  often  exist  side  by  side.  Thus 
we  have  drede  hym  and  drede  hym  self;  kepe  hym  and  kepe 
hym  self  etc.     (For  a  list  of  the  commonest  collocations  see 

§3^3-) 

1  Cf.  Aellner,  p.  xxxi,  d. 

2  W.  And  ther  they  l)e  all  thre,  594. 
■     3  ^Y,  _\5  good  as  thou 

We  hold  7's  that  be  here  now,  478. 


PRONOUNS  —  SYNTAX.  25 


DEMONSTRATIVE    PRONOUNS. 

88.  The  collocation  and  t/iat,  in  the  sense  of  the  Greek 
Kut  Tavra,  occurs  frequently:  I  shalle  shave  yoiv  sonime  to 
moruc  —  a)i(l  that  ineriieyUous,  145.12;  shal  make  the  tome 
ageyiie  and  that  lyghtly^  219.36. 

89.  As  a  demonstrative  adjective,  that  is  often  used 
before  an  infinitive  as  equivalent  to  such:  Atlas  —  that  euer 
a  kechen  page  shold  ha  tie  that  fortune  to  destroy  e  suche  — - 
k/iyghtes,  2  20. 28.  Cf.  also:  //(■  —  took  the  gay  nest  wayc  in 
that  ivoodefies  that  many  tymes  he  was  lyke  to perysshe,  243.31, 
where  a  clause  takes  the  place  of  the  infinitive.  A  similar 
use  of  that,  before  adjectives,  survives  as  a  modern  provin- 
cialism.     "  He  was  that  tired  he  couldn't  stand."  -^ 

90.  lyiis  is  sometimes  used  of  persons,  without  any 
following  noun  :  this  shall  nciier  prcue  none  suche.  For  syr 
Brezvnor  desyred  euer  luorship  and  thys  desyreth  brede  c^" 
drynke,   2  1 5 .  i . 

91.  That  survives  here  and  there  as  an  article:  that  one 
hyghte  kynge  Ban,  and  that  other  hyght  kyng  Bors,  47.28. 
p]ut  that  one  saiue  the  other,  695.6.  Besides  this  common 
collocation,  a  few  phrases  like  the  following  occur:  By  that 
tyme  that  eyther  had  scne  other,  193.29;  but  they  are  only 
sporadic. 

92.  Chaucer's  contraction  atte  (at  the)  has  disappeared. 
The  form  atte  is  merely  a  graphical  variant  of  the  simple 
preposition  at:  atte  my  windowe,  201.14;  <^''^''  '^^^  tymes, 
724-35- 

93.  The  definite  article  is  sometimes  contracted,  as  in 
Chaucer,    with   a   word    beginning    wath   a  vowel :     thestate, 

1  Cf.  Kclliier,  p.  xxvii,  f. 


26  PRO  NO  UNS  —  S  YNTAX. 

t/iot/icr,  t/uiuys,  thaffray,  thoppyiiyoji,  thabytc,  tlicmpyrc,  t/wrycnt, 
tholti,  thciidc,  thordre,  t/iaue/itu/d,  t/iystory,  tlierth,  ihaclicyiiyiig, 
thabhcy.  These  forms  are  less  common  than  in  Chaucer. 
They  are  not  invariable,  and  they  occur  most  frequently  in 
Caxton's  preface,  rubric  and  colophons. 

94.  The  definite  article  often  occurs,  as  in  Chaucer, 
where  it  would  be  expletive  in  modern  usage:  from  the 
dethe,  201.18;  here  at  the  heiiide,  213.17;  ichyle  mc  lasteth 
the  lyf,  1 3 1. 19;  pIcDiged  oner  the  hede,  243.30;  as  it  had  lien 
the  thonder,  267.2;  at  the  iiyghte,  G()o. 21  \  the  yonder  knyghte, 
146.T;  hflldyng  I'p  their  ha /ides  toicard  the  heiien,  659.1; 
drankc  the  7cy/i,  231.10.  The  constructioli  is  probably  due 
to   French   influence. 

INTERROGATIVE    TRONOUNS. 

95.  All  four  interrogatives,  luho,  whyche,  7vhat  and 
7vhether  are  used  in   both  direct  and  indirect  questions. 

96.  Whether  keeps  its  proper  sense,  '  which  of  the  two,'  -^ 
whether  lykcth  yoic  better  —  the  sucrd  or  the  scan  bard,  74.2; 
ye  sJial  staiide  betjvixe  them  both,  and  whether  ye  lyst  better  to 
go  to,  he  sJial  haite  yow,  146.24.  Rut  sometimes  it  is  dis- 
placed by  lohiehe :  ice  thout,t  to  preiie  whiche  of  vs  bothe  loas 
better  knyi,t,  105.29. 

97.  What  is  used  of  persons  in  the  sense  of  ivho :  asked 
her  what  she  7e.<as,  231.22;  Moiv  7ootest  tho7v  what  I  am, 
723.12.- 

(a)  What  a  in  the  sense  of  'what  sort  of'  occurs  at 
72.21:   I  tohl  you  —  what  a  knyghte  he  70a s. 

^  The  interrogative  whether  survives  in  Defoe:  "we  might  get  a 
great  deal  or  a  very  little,  we  did  not  know  ivlictlu-r.'"  Captain  Single- 
ton, I,  vii,  p.  157. 

-  W.  Wliat  deuylle  art  thou,  316  (i.  e.,  'who  the  devil  art  thou?'); 
Fayne  would  I  wete  what  they  were,  541. 


PRO  NO  UNS  —  S  \  -NT AX.  27 

98.  Chaucer's  adverbial  use  of  luhat  in  the  sense  of 
'  why '  is  very  rare  :  luhat  profryst  thotv  p7-oude  knyghte  the 
so  boldly,  176.13. 

99.  IV/io  is  used  (rarely)  with  a  following  partitive  geni- 
tive, where  tuhichc  is  usual :  syrc  Cador  foldc  who  of  his 
kiiyghtts  were  slaync,  172.8.^ 

RELATIVE    PRONOUNS. 

100.  That  is  by  far  the  commonest  relative,  occurring 
alike  in  restrictive  and  non-restrictive  clauses. 

101.  That  is  used  as  equivalent  to  that  7ohich,  or  what  : 
the  7'crtH  of  my  ry/igc  is  that  that  is  grcnc  it  will  tonic  to  feed, 
257.31 ;  tunc  haitc  I ccrtcfycd  the  of  that  tluno  stodcst  in  double, 
697.16;  there  may  iioo  man  hold  that  wille  azoeye,  300.27.- 

102.  JVhiche  -Mid  the  whiehe  are  used  as  adjectives:  S7note 
hyrn  on  the  hede  whiehe  stroke  stvnted  not,  etc.,  170.15;  to  the 
whiehe  tente  our  knxghtes  roile,  169.20.'' 

103.  The  use  of  loliiehe  with  reference  to  persons  is  too 
common  and  regular  to  need  citation. 

104.  Which  is  sometimes  used  after  .*7'  and  such,  where 
the  proper  coirelati^'c  is  as :  I  haue  none  soo  hyghe  a  thynge 
whiehe  were  worthy  to  sustcxne  soo  hxhe  a  sucril,  69S.10. 

1  W.    shows  a  compound  interrogative  form  '.vJiat  tliat : 
The  stuard  stode  the  wryght  by, 
And  of  his  garlond  hadde  ferly  ('  wonder  ') 
What  til  at  yt  be-mente,  259. 
'^  W.     Vheue  me  some  mete  (ye  be  to  blame), 
Of  tJiat  the  wyfe  ye  brought,  491. 
So  Bacon :    "  when  a  man  lets  fall  Signes  and  Arguments,  that  he  is  not 
/'/^(^^  he  is."      Of  Sinuilatioit  and  Dissininlatioii  {Wr/g/it,  19.25). 
3  W.    Of  roses  whyte  that  wyll  not  fade, 

Whych  floure  all  ynglond  doth  glade,  66S. 


28  PRONO  UNS  —  S  YNTAX. 

(a)  That  is  used  in  like  manner:  tuho  myghte be soo  blessid 
that  fuyg/it  see  openly,  etc.,  712.20.  But  the  correlation  with 
so  is  frequently  irregular  (see  so,  §  38 5.4 j. 

105.  The  ordinary  sense  of  «'//<?/(' that  which,'  'what- 
ever ')  is  retained  in  its  adjective  use  :  a  tnayde  in  \^\\2X  place 
she  conieth  is  free ^  704.5;  delyuer  hym  to  what  pou re  man  ye 
mete,  39.6  (where  7vhat  is  used,  as  frequently,  of  a  person). 

106.  /F7;<z/ occurs  sometimes  as  an  indefinite  in  the  sense 
of  'somewhat,'  'some':  Thennc  there felle  to  thetn  what  of 
ISforthwalys  and  of  Cortiewailc  —  to  the  nianber  of  a  four  score 
knyghtcs,  805.5. 

(a)  What  —  what  is  used  with  prepositional  phrases  in 
the  sense  of  '  partly  —  partly  ' :  what  for  drede  and  for  lone 
they  helde  their  pees,  75.24;  they  rode  fressh/y  —  what  by  water 
and  what  by  land,  10 1.9:  what  forwou?idcd  and  what  forbbed, 
350.26. 

107.  IVhos  and  whom  are  sometimes  used  of  antecedents 
without  life :  the  floure  of  the  lyly,  in  whome  vyrgynyte  is 
sygnefyed,  715.29;  on  re  lord  sente  hem  the  Sancgreal,  thorow 
whoo'i  grace  they  were  al  wayc  filfylled,  722.13.^ 

108.  The  compound  forms  with  that  are  regular  in 
Chaucer.  TJiat  was  originally  appended,  it  is  likely,  to 
indicate  the  relative  force  of  a  form  properly  interrogative, 
just  as  it  was  appended  to  adverbs,  etc.,  to  indicate  their 
conjunctive  force  (see  §  388.4).  In  both  cases  that  gives 
the  word  to  which  it  is  appended  the  force  of  an  introductory 
particle. 

109.  Of  these  compound  relative  forms,  — 

(a)  what  that  and  (usually)  zuho  that  are  general  rela- 
tives:   I  shall  abyde  what  auenture  that  co7neth,  110.36;  what 

1  }'"or  the  use  of  /'///  as  a  relative  see  §  361.2. 


PRONOUNS  —  SYNTAX.  29 

iresour  that  there  in  this  castcl  is  J  gyiic  it  you,  199.28;^  who 
that  7-seth  peramours  shalle  be  vnhappy,  198.12;  he  badde  the 
lordes  —  C077ie  after  who  that  wold,  267.38 ; 

(b)  but  an  obHque  case  of  who  that  is  also  used  as  a 
simple  relative  :  he  myghte  vwre  auay/e  the  thatt  thyii  ar7}ioiir 
in  whos  seruyse  that  thou  a  lie  sette,  710.19. 

(c)  ivhiche  that  is  a  simple  relative :  he  told  hyin  of  the 
adueutures —  whiche  that  he  kitctue,  715.13. 

110.  71tat  as  is  very  rare.  It  is  used  in  the  sense  of 
'  that  that '  or  '  what ' :  But  that  as  syre  launcehit  dyd  was  of 
his  grete  ge/itytnes,  215.16.  The  appended  as  has  the  same 
force  as  the  appended  that,  and  is  so  used  in  Chaucer  to 
make  relative  adverbs  (' ther  as 'j,  but  not  to  make  relative 
pronouns  (cf.  §  359. S). 

111.  All  the  other  compound  forms  have  the  force  of 
general  relatives. 

112.  The  attempt  to  express  the  genitive  of  the  relative 
gives  rise  to  some  noteworthy  periphrases :  ye  are  the  safne 
k/iyghte  that  I  lodged  o)ies  in  your  Casfel,  266.15  ;  a  gentylw07na7i 
whiche  we  and  this  castcl  is  hers,  705. 13  ;  there  ca//ie  a  /7ia/i  that 
sii-e  Trisf7-a7n  —  had  slay/ie  his  broder,  327.10;  that  was  she 
that  Breunys  saunce pyte  took  that  shcid  f/v/zi  her,  345.11 ;  hit 
is  7iot  thy  parte  to  disp/'ayse  thy  p/y/ieesse  that  thou  arte  U7idcr 
theire  obeyssaunce,  358.14.  The  commonest  resort  is  to  the 
adverbial  form  wherof  which  is  used  of  both  persons  and 
things:  77ia7iy  angels  —  whe7-of  07ie  helde  a  candel,  711. 15. 
All  these  forms  are  inherited  or  extended  from  Chaucerian 
usage. 

Note,  on  the  other  hand,  the  rare  construction  :  that  lady 
whos  was  the  eha7nber,  343.13. 

^  W.    Thowe  wylt  worke,  yf  thou  hungyr  welle, 
What  worke  that  the  be  brought,  356. 


30  PR  0X0  C/A'S  —  S  ViVTAX. 

113.  Thus  it  appears  that  Chaucer's  relative  periphrasis 
(''that  —  he,"  "that  —  his,"  etc.)  survives,  ahriost  of  neces- 
sity, in  the  genitive.  A  few  sporadic  instances  ^  show  that 
it  is  hngering  in  the  nominative :  "  N'ow  toiirne  we  vnto  sire 
Trystram  that  vpon  a  dayc  he  took  a  lytel  Bargct,  330.24;  here 
is  a  liwrshipfuU  knyght  sir  Lamorak  dc  galys  that  for  me  he 
shalle  he  lord  of  this  count rcyc,  334.1;  no7v  tome  u<e  this  tale 
vnto  syrc  Tristram  that  ly  adiientiirc  Jic  cam  to  a  castcl,  407.20. 
All  three  instances  are  from  the  Tristram  books. 

114.  A  restrictive  relative  may  be  omitted,  even  in  the 
nominative  :  there  bcii  tcny^tcs  here  wolde  doo  her  power  Jor  to 
rescowc  your  lady,  21G.14;  he  ivas  the  kny:^t  in  the  world  was 
tfioost  tvelcofne  to  her,  190.13:  where  is  the  lady  shold  mete  7's 
here,  146.14;  /  shalle  senile  hym  a  gyfte  shalle  please  hym, 
101.2. 

115.  Even  a  non-restrictive  relative  may  be  omitted: 
thenne  was  he  ware  of  a  Faucon  came  feynge  ouer  his  hede, 
208.11;  they  sa7c>e  knyghtes  al  armed  came  in  —  and  dyd  of 
their  helmes,  7 1 8.  i . 

116.  When  the  antecedent  is  a  personal  pronoun  it  is 
sometimes  omitted  :  thou  to  loue  that  loucth  not  the  is  but  grete 
foly,  237.17;  to  7cihome  I  shold  he  moost  debonair  shall  I  be 
7nost  felon ,  694.18. 

1  Cited  by  Kellner,  p.  xli. 

-  The  persistence  of  this  periphrasis  appears  in  the  following  passage 
from  Defoe :  "  one  was  a  wolf,  one  a  fine  spotted  young  leopard,  and  the 
other  {pljiral)  were  creatures  that  we  knew  not  what  to  call  ttiem." 
Captain  Singleton,  I,  vii,  p.  169.  Even  to-day  ignorant  people  some- 
times take  refuge  in  this  form,  when  their  relative  constructions  become 
involved. 


PKONOUiVS  —  SYXTAX.  31 


INDEFINITE    PRONOUNS. 

117.  A/I  thviig  is  used  in  the  sense  of  '  ev^erything ' :  all 
t/ivfig  is  vnhappy  that  is  ahoiite  /levi,  198.13.^     -. 

118.  Exthcr  is  sometimes  used  in  the  sense  of  bothe : 
eyther  knyghtcs  departed  in  solid  re — ,  226.31." 

119.  One  is  used  in  comparisons  witli  so  —  as  without 
adding  any  apparent  meaning  or  force  :  so  worthy  a  kiiy-if  as 
he  was  one,  87.34;  siiehe  yong  knyghtes  as  he  is  one,  251.25. 
But  these  scattered  instances  may  mark  the  intensive  use 
that  is  evident  in  the  following :  th(>ii  arte  the  goodlyest  yong 
man  one  that  eiier  I  sawe,  214.18;  the  7oorthyest  knyghte  oj 
the  world  one,  6S5 . 1 9 . 

120.  One  is  used  sometimes  in  the  sense  of  'a  certain,' 
very  much  like  the  indefinite  article:  that  shalle  be  at  one 
tymc,  694.19.  The  ordinary  phrase  is  on  a  tynn\  on  a  daye, 
etc. 

121.  ^Xoiie  is  sometimes  used  for  neyther :  none  of  the?H 
bo  the,  97.24. 

122.  So  any  is  sometimes  used  for  eyther :  ony  of  them 
both,  87.19;   ony  of  yow  both,  523.25. 

123.  Onx  is  used  as  an  intensive  in  comparisons  (see 
one,  §  119):  he  is  as  lykely  a  man  as  euer  ye  sa'we  ony,  233.19; 
ye  be  as  fay  r  a  lady  as  euer  I  sawe  ony,  509.8. 

124.  Ony  is  used  in  the  sense  of  soiiime  in  the  following: 

1  Cf.    "It  had  been  as  a  gap  in  our  great  feast. 

And  all-tiling  unbecoming,"  Machetli,  III,    i.  13, 
where  "all-thing"  means  'altogether,'  'in  every  respect.' 
2  For  eytJier  in  the  sense  of  'each  '  see  §  132  (c). 


32  PR  0X0  UXS  —  S  YNTAX. 

Hope  ye  so  that  I  maye  ony  7C'/iyIe  stand  a  proiicd  knyght, 
218.14  {any  7uhyk  =i's,ovc\^  time).-^ 

125.  Other  has  full  pronominal  force  and  is  used,  in  both 
sing,  and  plur.,  without  the  article:  the  one  of  vs  shal  make 
an  ende  of  other,  194.29;  euerychone  after  other  (one  after 
another),  76.33.      Cf.  132,  d. 

126.  Other  is  sometimes  used  with  a  half-conjunctive 
force,  like  besides  :  syr  beriel  &  other  (plur.;  syr  Morys  and 
syr  Maurel,  172.9.  This  appears  most  commonly  in  the 
phrase  moo  other  (others  besides,  more  besides):  moo  other 
loners,  508.29.* 

127.  None  other  \%  \\?,(tCi  in  the  sense  of  'nothing  else': 
/  dyd  none  other  but  as  I  ivold ye  dyd  to  me,  95.32.^^ 

128.  He  is  sometimes  used  as  an  indefinite,  especially 
in  the  genitive  :  that  eiiery  /ord  and  lady  shold  go  vnto  his  7-cst, 
247.29;^  though  alle  the  ivorld  were  here  ryght  now  he  eoude 
not  deuyse  7vhe/for,  etc.,  698.27. 

129.  A  certayn  occurs  as  an  indefinite,  as  in  Chaucer :  a 
certayn  of  the  tray  tours,  495.3.' 

INTENSIVE    PRONOUNS. 

130.  The  intensive  forms  are  made,  as  in  Chaucer,  with 
selfie)  and  ozone;  but  the  following  peculiarities  are  note- 
worthy : 

1  Otty  the  other  eyght,  2.1  (Caxton's  Preface),  is  not  paralleled  else- 
where. Kellner  (p.  xvii)  regards  it  as  a  case  of  apposition  instead  of 
the  partitive  construction.     It  is  perhaps  a  printer's  error. 

2  Kellner  (p.  xvii)  seems  to  regard  the  use  of  othci-  in  the  phrase 
'Other  her  gentyll  women,'  B/dnc/uirdyn,  76.31,  as  parallel  with  the  use 
of  maner  explained  at  §  24  {tvtiat  maner  knyght,  etc.). 

3  For  the  adjective  use  of  ether  see  §  49.  ■*  Cf.  §  77. 
5  For  the  indefinite  use  of  nihat  cf.  §  106. 


PRO  NO  UiXS  —  S  YN,TAX.  33 

(a)  Sclfic)  is  the  invariable  form  for  singular  and  plural/ 

(b)  The  incongruous  forms  show  that  self  keeps  its 
original  adjective  force,  but  is  coming  more  and  more  to  be 
regarded  as  a  noun.  Thus  we  have  —  hym  self,  them  self, 
hem  se/f  but  my  se/f  thy  self  your  se/f  their  self} 

131.  The  intensive  form  is  sometimes  used  alone  as 
subject:   hym  sclfe  7i>as  leddc  in  to  a  fay  re  eJiamher,  \()o.().^ 

RECIPROCAL    PRONOUNS. 

132.  The  reciprocals  are  eche  other,  eneryelie  other,  eyther 
other  and  simple  other.  All  of  the  pairs  occur  both  side  by 
side  and  separated  by  intervening  words  ;   thus  : 

r  eche  other:  ive  wit  Jieipe  eche  other,  83.1 8. 
(a)  <  eche  — ■  other :     theinie  lete    they  re/i/ie    eche    to    other, 

L  704. iS. 

reueryche  other:  7K'0Hiided  eueryche  other,  97.21. 
(b)-<  eiiervche — other:   eiieryclie  told  other  of  theire  adiioi- 

L  tures,  70S.37;  eueryche  knetve  other,  691. 11. 

r eyther  other :  they  grauiited  eyther  other  to  rest,  338.35. 

,  ,       eyther  —  other:    exther   of  hem   smote    other,    2s8.iS; 

(c)  -<^  ' 

I  Diaiiy  a  grymme  7c>orde  7i'as  there  spoken  cyder  to 

I  other,  846.8. 

(d)  The  persistence  of  other  alone  as  a  reciprocal  is 
sufficiently  noteworthy  to  need  full  exemplification :  they 
drcwe  their  siuerdes  and  smote  cger/y  at  other,  220.19;  the  reed 
knyghte  and  syr  Bors  smote  other,  259.28 ;  ichanne  that  one  saice 
the  other,  they  made  grete  loye  of  other,  695.7  ;  No7v  sone  gahiliad 
said  launccht  —  7ve  shal  departe,  and  neiier  j-fV  other,  709.35.'' 

1  Romstedt  (p.  42)  cites  they  them  selucn  from  Reynard  the  Fox,  86. 1 3. 
-  For  sel/{e)  as  an  adjective  in  the  sense  of  '  same '  see  §  50. 
3  "  Is  that  the  law  ? 

Thyself  s\\?i\t  see  the  act."  —  Merch.  Ve)i.  IV,  1.305. 
*  To  gyder\%  sometimes  used  with  reciprocal  force:   they  dyd  of  their 
lulmes  and  kyssed  to  gyder,  707.24. 


34 


VERBS  —  REDUPLICA  TING. 


VERBS. 


THE    STRONG    VERB. 

In  the  following  tables  the  forms  from  the  Alortc  d'Arthur  (printed 
always  in  Italics)  are  exhibited  parallel  with  the  Chaucerian  forms 
given  in  Ten  l]rink's  lists.  The  Chaucerian  forms  are  given  first  in 
each  case,  and  are  distinguished  by  difference  of  type. 

Since  the  distinction  between  the  preterit  singular  and  the  preterit 
plural  has  disappeared  (§  1 52),  only  the  former  is  given. 

Where  a  verb  shows  shifting  toward  the  weak  conjugation,  the  weak 
forms  are  put  in  brackets. 

Conjectural  forms  are  marked  by  parentheses. 

REDUPLICATING    VERBS. 


\  bete 

beet 

beten 

i  bete  1 

bete 

bete{ii) 

(  blowe 

blew 

blowen 

(  blo7ve 

bicive 

blowen 

falle 

fel,  fil 

fallen 

1  falle 

fclh'jyljylk 

falleiii) 

(  growe 

grew 

growen 

(  gnnve 

gre7oe  [_gn>7C'a/" 

growen 

(  hewe 

hewen 

\  {hewe^ 

heivc  \Jic70cd  ^] 

/lC7VCIl 

\  hylde 

heeld 

hylden 

\  holde 

held{e) ' 

/io/dc(n)  ' 

1  The  forms  from  the  Mortc  tP Arthur  are  printed  in  Italics. 
•  grazued  occurs  once,  276.32. 

^  hewed  occurs  once,  31S.30  ;  /leiue  twice,  170.1S,  249.22. 
^  \V.  has  also  hyld. 

^  wel  and  truly  haue  ye  hold yotir  promyse,  420.4  ;  she  had  behold  hym 
longe,  343- 1 8- 


VERES  —  ABLA  UT. 


35 


\  hQiige 
\  hange 

\  h^te 
I  hehotc- 

l  knowe 

(  kiiowe 

(  throwe 
\  thro7ue 


heeng 
henge 


heet,  h^^t 

{_Jiyghte\ 

knew 
knnvc 

threw 
thrc7vc 


\Jimiged  ■'J 
listen 

knowen 
knoweifi)  ^ 

throwen 
throwcn 


134.    Lepc,  k-tc,  sh'pe,  and  loeepe  have  gone  over  entirely 
to  the  weak  conjugation. 


ABLAUT    VERBS. 


The  classification  is  that  of  Sievers  {A?!geisdchsische  Gramtiiatik,  3S  i ). 
Reference  to  Ten  Brink's  classification  (Chancers Sprache  ttnd  Verskiinst, 
136)  may  be  made  with  the  aid  of  the  following  table: 


Class 


Sievers. 

Ten  Brink. 

I  (§  z^^y 

Class  III  (§  153). 

n  (§  384). 

IV  {§  156). 

Ill,  I  (§  386). 

I,  A,  b  (§  139). 

Ill,  2,  3,  4  (§§  387-389)- 

I,  A,  a  (§  139). 

IV  (§  390)- 

I,  B  (§  142). 

V  (§  391). 

I,  B  (§  142),  C  (§ 

VI  (§  39-)- 

n  {§  149)- 

145)- 


Citations  are  given  for  the  rarer  forms. 

1  hanged  occurs  once,  624.14  ;  and  bchanged  once,  125.32. 

2  there  was  none  that  wold  behote  hym  the  lyf,  2S4. 33  ;   Hctcth  occurs 
once  :    IVIiat  heteth  your  lady,  216.3. 

3  A'no  occurs  in  Caxton's  Preface  (1.18),  at  the  end  of  a  line 

The  ptc.  mowen  occurs  at  22S.17.     The  verb  seems  not  to  occur  in 
Chaucer,      'iste  Stratfnanii,  'mawen.' 


36  VERBS  —ABLAUT. 


Class  I. 

135. 

0. 

E. 

i             a 

i              i 

Chauie> 

i                    Q 

i              i 

(  byde 
(  abydc^ 

bq^d 
(a) bode' 

(a)biden 
{a)byden 

(  byte 
\  byte 

bQQt 

/^^<V,  bote 

biten 

1  dryve 
(  dry  lie 

drqqi 
droofie),  drofc 

driven 

(  ryde 
(  ryde 

r9Qd 
rod{e)  ^ 

rideii 
ryden 

\  ryse 
\  {a)ryse 

(a)roos,  (a) rose 

risen 

ia)ryscn 

(  ryve 
(  ryue 

rQQf 

roflf{e),  rofc,  rafe^ 

jyuen,  [^ryiicd 

(  shryve 
(  {shryue 

) 

'  shryucd' 

shriven 
shrynoi 

I  shyne 
(  shyne 

shQ^n 
shone 

slyde 


slode ' 


smyte  smc^Qt  smiten 

smytc  smote  smytcn ' 

1  The  forms  from  the  Morte  d'Artliur  are  printed  in  Italics. 

2  abode,  196.32,  690.6;  bode,  850.31. 

3  rod,  3S8.22.     A  weak  pret.  rydde  occurs  in  Blanchardyn,  S3. 27. 

*  rafe,  596.18.  ^  ryiied,  290.12.  '°  slode,  58.21. 

■^  smyte,  696.1  (passage  perhaps  corrupt). 


I  'ERBS  —  ABLA  UT. 


37 


(bi)stryde 

(bi)str99d 

{bestrydc) 

(be)stradc 

strike(n)^ 

stryke 

strakf,  stroke'' 

stryken 

stryve 

StrQQf 

stryue' 

stroof" 

thryve 

(fhryuc) 

throfe 

wryte 

wrQQt 

writen 

wryte 

wrote 

wry  ten  * 

wrythe 

wrvthc 

li'rothe} 

, 

136.  The  rare  preterits  rafe  and  bestradc  may  be  due  to 
the  analogy  of  Class  IV.  Stratmann  cites  7-af  and  strad 
from  "  Iwain  and  Gawain"  (about  14.00). 


^  Stryke  does  not  appear  in  Ten  Brink's  lists,  but  the  ptc.  occurs  in 
"Merciles  Beaute." 

Love  hath  my  name  ^j'-j/W/tv  out  of  his  sclat, 
And  he  is  strike  out  of  my  bokes  clene. 

{Chaitc.  Rlinor  Poems,  Skeat,  \'I,  35.) 
-  The  pret.  st raked  (370.14)  is  from  a  weak   verb  strake.     See  Strat- 
jnan7t,  strakien. 

But  a  weak  pret.  stryked  does  occur  in  Revuard,  66.2,  71.26  {Romstedt, 

P-  42,  I,  3)- 

3  stroof  (O.  F.  estriver)  is  a  purely  analogical  formation  (see  Tot 
Britik,  154).  It  occurs  only  in  Caxton's  Rubric,  10.17.  Romstedt  cites 
j-/r^( Reynard,  S3. 34). 

*  W.  wretyn. 

'^  ivrothe  (326.17,  595.27)  seems  not  to  occur  in  Chaucer,  though  the 
ptc.  writhen  appears.     Stratmann  cites  '  wrooth  '  from  Wiclif. 


38 


VERBS  —  ABLA  UT. 


137. 


O.  E. 
Chaucer 


(  cheese 
I  chese^ 

(  cleeve 
(  cleue 

jfiye 

seethe 
(seethe) 

^  shouve 
I  {shone) 


Class  II. 

eo(u)  ea 

e,  ii  ^ 

ch^^s 

[clefte] 

cla/(e),^  elauc,  \j:lefte'\ 

fleigh,  fley 
flejve  ^ 

s^^th 

shoof 
shoiw,  shcef  ^ 


u 

0 

chosen 
chosen 

clQven 

clouen 

flowen 

soden 

sodcn 

shoven 

shouen 


138.  Clafe  is  probably  made,  like  '  haf '  in  Chaucer 
(heve),  after  the  analogy  oi  gafe  {jeue,  Class  V).  Langland 
has  "clef";   Maundeville,  "cleef." 

f^or  the  eta  in  flcwe  see  drewe  and  sle7ve,  Class  VI  (§  151). 

139.  Chose  is  due  to  confusion  with  the  participle,  which 
also  explains  the  prets.  cropc  and  frore  cited  by  Romstedt 
(Reynard,  27.22,  82.10).  Cf.  foot-note  on  shcef,  and  see 
Siratmann,  creopen,  freosen. 

140.  Shccte  has  passed  over  to  the  weak  conjugation,  and 
so  have  crcepe  and  freese,  save  for  the  rare  and  anomalous 
forms  cited  above. 

1  The  forms  from  the  Morte  d' ArtJiur  are  printed  in  Italics. 

2  Claf,  689.22  ;  clauc,  93.4. 

3  Romstedt  cites.  Jlough  (Aymon,  39.10). 

*  Sheef,  624.29  ;  shone,  173.12.  Sheef  is  the  proper  preterit  singular, 
Chaucer's  "shoof"  having  intruded  from  the  plural  and  the  participle. 
See  Stratfuann,  schuven. 


VERBS  —  ABLA  UT. 


39 


Class  III. 


(0 


141.   Verbs  in  nasal  +  consonant. 


O.  E 

1 

9' 

(a)              u              u 

Chaucer             i 

Q> 

a                 u              u 

j  biginne 
(  bcgynnc  ^ 

(bi)gan 

began,  beganne  '■^ 

bigonnen 

bcgonne 

^  bynde 

(  bynde 

b^nd 

bond{e),  bound{e) 

bounden 
bonde{n),  bounde{n) 

(  clymbe 
(  {clymbe) 

cl^mb 
damme 

clomben 

{  drinke 

drank 

dronken 

(  drynkc 

drank{e)  ^ 

drcniken 

\  fiynge 

flqng 

(  fynde 

fQnd 

founden 

\  fynde 

fond{e),  found{e) 

/onde{n),fo/id,  founde{n) 

i  grynde 
(  {grynde) 

grounden 
groiindyn  * 

(  renne 

ran 

ronnen 

(  renne 

ran,  ranne 

ronne 

\  ringe 

rQng 

rongen 

\  rynge 

i-aiigc 

1  The  forms  from  the  Morte  d'' Arthur  are  printed  in  Italics. 

2  begaujie  is  the  more  common  form.  ^  W.  has  pret.  driinkc,  4S8. 
* grouftdyn   occurs  only  once,   and    then    as  an  adjective:    JVitk   a 

grotindyn  glaytte  he  threst  hym  in  bchyiide  to  the  herte,  807.18.     The 
passage  sounds  like  a  reminiscence  of  some  older  alliterative  romance. 


40 


VERBS  —  ABLA  UT. 


Singe 

SQng 

songen 

synge 

sange 

soJige 

sinke 

sank 

sonken 

{synke) 

sanke,  \_sy?iked  ^' 

springe 

sprang 

sprongen 
spronge  ^ 

stinge 

st^ng 

stongen 

stynge 

stonge 

stongen 

swimnie 

swam 

swommen 

sivyjnme 

S7vanunc  ^ 

thringe 

throng 

throngen 

{thrynge  ^) 

thrang(e) 

winne 

wan 

wonnen 

wy?ine 

wan,  wanne 

wonne{ji) 

wringe 

wrQng 

wrongen 

wryngc 

7V7-ong,  7urange  ^ 

142.  The  confusion  of  preterital  and  participial  forms, 
or  rather  of  the  preterit  singular  with  the  preterit  plural, 
appears  in  the  preterits  boundc  and  foiuide. 

143.  The  preterits  clajnme,  sange,  thrang  and  zvra?ige  (a 
for  Chaucer's  q)  have  ample  earlier  warrant  (see  Stratmaun, 

S.  77'.). 

"^  sanke,  350.25,  and  syiikdci,  83S.18,  occur  once  each.  \V.  has  ptc. 
sonke. 

2  W.  has  pret.  sprang. 

^  A  pret.  swans^e  occurs  at  294.21.  Swytigen  does  not  seem  to  occur 
in  Chaucer,  nor  elsewhere  in  the  Morte  d' Arthur. 

*  Sommer  (Glossary)  prints  threnge,  but  cites  no  instance. 

^  wrong,  168.14,  and  wratige,  389.36,  occur  once  each. 


VERBS  —  ABLA  UT.  41 

144.  The  preterit  flang  is  from  a  rare  verb  borrowed, 
probably,  from  O.  N.  flengja.  Ten  Brink  does  not  give  the 
form  in  his  lists;  but  Skeat  (Diet.)  cites  flojig,  C.  T.,  17255. 
It  seems  to  occur  first  about  1300,  in  King  Alisaunder 
(Weber's  Metrical  Rornances).  Most  of  the  instances  cited 
by  Stratmann  are  from  northern  poems  of  considerably  later 
date  (1380-1460).  It  is  quite  likely  a  northern  provin- 
cialism. The  analogy  of  syfige,  sang,  etc.,  has  drawn  the 
verb  into  this  class,  just  as  strive  (O.  F.  estriver)  was 
drawn  in  Chaucer's  time  into  III,  by  the  analogy  of  dryve, 
droof,  etc.  (p.  37,  foot-note  3). 

145.  Verbs  in  /  +  a  consonant. 


0.  E.                e             ea  (a) 

u 

0 

Chaucer           e             a 

"  (9) 

9(9) 

heipe       halp 

h^lpen 

he/pe  ^       ha/p  {e) ,  hoipe,  -  helpe  ^ 

holpcn 

swelle      swal 

swQlIen 

stva/k  ■* 

, 

(  yeelde  •  y^lden 

I  yelde         \_yelded ^], yelde,  yoldc ^      \_yelded\  yolden^ ycldcn  ^ 

1  The  forms  from  the  Morte  d'Arthur  are  printed  in  Italics. 

2  kolpe,  856.20  (see  §  152). 

3  helpe,  24.4,  Caxton's  Rubric. 
*  swalle,  729.1. 

^  yelded,  pret.,  13-23,  and  yehleti,  ptc,  13.1,  occur  only  in  Caxton's 
Rubric. 

^  yelde,  39.38;  yolde,  182-23.  The  older  pret.  is  jeald,  //.  gulden 
(Stratmann,  3elden). 

"^ yolden  is  the  regular  form  for  the  ptc.  1S0.29,  201. r,  228.6,  704.4. 


42  VERBS  —  ABLA  UT. 


(3) 

146.    Verbs  in  r 

or  7*  +  a  consonant. 

O.  E. 

Chaucer 

eo              ea              u 
e,  i            a               u 

o 

(9)             9 

(  breste  ^ 
(  breste' 

brast 

brastic),  brest{e)^ 

brQSten 

(  fighte 

fa  light 
faught{c)' 

fQughten 
foiightcn 

(  kerve 
\  kcrue 

karf 

carfc  \kcrucd  ]  '    . 

Class  IV. 

kqrven 

147.    0.  E. 

Chancer 

e           ae           ffi 

\           a            ^,  e 

o 

(o)             Q  (u) 

(  bere 
\  berc- 

bar,  beer,  b^^r 
bare,  bere 

bQren,  b^rn 
boreji,  bornie) 

l  breke 
(  breke 

brak 

brakie),  brack^ 

broken 
broken 

1  Berstan,  on  account  of  its  pret.  in  a-  (baerst),  is  relegated  by  Sievers, 
with  a  few  otlier  verbs,  to  a  separate  division  (4)  of  Class  III  {Sievers, 

389)- 

2  The  forms  from  the  Morte  d' Arthur  are  printed  in  Italics. 

3  Romstedt  (p.  43,  III,  2)  cites  a  pret.  to  hroste  (Aymon,  478.13). 
The  preterit  wrast  (326.16,  368.4)  may  be  due  to  the  analogy  of  brast. 

See  Stratmann,  wraesten. 

4  Romstedt  (p.  43.  HI,  2)  cites  a  pret. /<7?/?-/^/  (Eneydos,  8.27).^ 
^  carfe,  111.24,689,25;  kerued,  158.13. 
6  brack,  48.18. 


;  'ERBS  —ABLAUT. 


43 


come 

come 

I  (neme) 
\ 

^  speke 
(  spckc 

stele 
stele 

tere^ 


cam,  coom 

comen 

cavi{c),  come 

C07ne{ii) 

nam,  noom 

nomen 

benome  ^ 

spak 

spoken 

spcik(c),spack(cf 

spoken 

stal 

stale 

stolen 

totar 

totoren, tQrn 

tare^ 

148.  Spcke  belongs  properly  to  Class  V,  but  has  been 
drawn  over  entirely,  as  gcte^  trede,  7vreke  and  l>ydde  (q.  v.) 
have  been  drawn  over  partially,  by  the  analogy  of  Class  IV. 


Class  V. 

149. 

0.  E. 

e              a: 

£e             e 

Chaucer 

?  (i)    '    a,  ^  (e,  ^) 

e,  ^          ?  (i) 

ete 

eat 

eten 

etc' 

ete 

ete{ny' 

gete 

gat 

geten 

gete 

gat{e),  gatte  "< 

geten,  yeten,^  goten 

1  benome,  647.13,  653.4,  674.23. 

^  spack,  20.23  (Caxton's  Rubric);  s/acAr,  161. 10,  530.25. 
■■?  JVere  ('wear')  -^care  appears  as  a  full  strong  verb  of  this  class.     In 
C/i.  it  is  still  weak,  e.xcept  for  a  pret.  pi.  "  weren." 

*  579-8. 

s  The  forms  from  the  Aforte  cfArtliur  are  printed  in  Italics. 

*■'  ptc.  eh\  652.21.  "^  gatte,  297.37,  4.S0.30. 

^  geten,  132.32;  yeten  (foryeten),  S40.34. 


44  VERBS  —ABLA  UT. 


sty  eke  ^ 

stak{e),  stack 

trede 

trad 

trade  ^ 

wreke 

(7i'reke) 

'turekyd^' 

treden,  tr^den 

wreken,  wroken 
7ciroke{ii)  ^ 

yive  yaf  yiven 

ycue,  gcue,  gyue  '  yaf,  gafie)  ^       .  gyuen,  geiien 

(a)  O.  E.  seon  is  for  an  older  seh(w)on.     Hence  pret. 
seah,  ptc.  sewen, 

see  saugh,  seih,  saygh,  sy     seyen,  seene 

see  '     "         saw{ey  senc 

(b)  The  following  had  originally  ay'  in  the  present  (Goth, 
bidjan). 

beden 


bidde 

bad 

bydde 

bad' 

lye,  ligge 

lay 

6'^'»  b'gs^ 

Iay{e) 

leyen 

/n '//<!',  layiie^ 

1  Sty  eke  is  from  O.  E.  stician  (weak).  The  strong  verb  stecan  does 
not  appear  in  O.  E.,  though  its  existence  is  plainly  indicated  {Skcat, 
Diet.).  Nor  does  Ch.  use  the  strong  verb  steken,  which  appears  else- 
where in  M.  E.     See  Stratniamt. 

2  stak,  24S.32,  ^y,  stack,  40.23,  69.29.     Cf.  speke  under  IV. 

3  trade,  778.13,  784.10. 

4  wrekyd,  229.32. 

5  'wroken,  107.5  :  awroke,  47.9.  U'rokeii,  like  Chaucer's  treden,  is  due 
to  the  analogy  of  Class  IV.     Cf.  §  148. 

^^(7/ and  ^i:;nfe  are  about  equally  common. 

"  A  pret.  see  seems  to  occur  at  59.8,  but  the  case  is  doubtful. 

8  A  ptc.  bodefi,  after  the  analogy  of  Class  IV,  occurs  at  730.S. 

9  A  ptc.  tyen  occurs  at  35.12.  W.  has  only  leyiiie).  With  leyiu  cf. 
borfie  (IV)  and  seite  (V,  a).     Chaucer  has  "seene,"  adj. 


VERBS  —  ABLA  UT. 


45 


(  sitte 

sat,  seet 

seten 

j  sytie 

sat{e),^  satte 
Class  VI. 

syttcji 

150.    0.  E. 

a                            6        0 

a 

Chaucer 

a,  a,  ^,  (^,  9)         0        6 

a,  a,  ?  (9) 

(  bake 

baken 

\  {bakey 

bakeiii) 

drawe 

drew 

drawe  n 

(  drawe 

dreive 

drawe(ji)  '^ 

^  fare 

"fared" 

faren 

\  f^^>-e 

fared 

/(7;r;/  * 

j  forsake 
)  forsake 

forsook 

forsaken 

forsake 

forsaken 

(  grave 

graven 

(  {graue) 

grauen 

{  heve 
/  kcne 

haf 

heue  ^ 

(  laughe 

lough 

laughen 

1  laugh{e) 

lough,  \Jaughed  '^\ 

shake 

shook 

shaken 

/  shake 

shoke 

^  sate,  244.34. 

-  The  forms  from  the  Morte  d'Artliur  are  printed  in  Italics. 

**  drawe  occurs  once,  106.30.  ^  fame,  adj.,  595.9. 

^  heue  occurs  at  847.18,  where  it  is  a  plural.  Romstedt  (p.  44,  VI,  i) 
cites  keef  (Reynard,  95.37,  96.8),  and  explains  it  as  formed  after  the 
analogy  of  the  reduplicating  class. 

6  lough,  45.29  ;  laui:;hcd,  -f^l .yi . 


46 


VERBS—  ABLA  UT. 


shape 

shoop 

shapen 

sJiapc 

shape 

shapoi 

slee 

slough,  slow 

slawen,  slayn 

she 

slough,  slewe  ^ 

slaynie)'^ 

stonde, 

stood 

stQiiden 

stand{e)  ^ 

stood{e),^  stode 

{with)stond{e), 
{imder)sta>id{e)^ 

swere 

swoor 

swQren,  swQrn 

swere 

sware  " 

sworH{e) 

take 

took 

taken 

take 

took{e),  toke 

take{n)  ^ 

wake 

wook 

waken 

{a)wake 

%vok{e),  ivake 

wasshe 

wessh 

wasshen 

wasshe 

zcesshe,^  7vasshe, 
'wasshed  ^' 

wasshen 

waxe,  wexe 

weex,  wex,  wax 

waxen,  w^xen 

xvaxe 

~7Vdxt{e)  ^"]  \_tciaxcd' 

7vaxen 

'^slough,   165.31;    slcwc,   113.30.     Romstedt   cites  one  case  of  pret. 
slowe  (Reynard,  34.33). 

2  The  -^X-Z-flayiu  (flayed)  occurs  at  74.25  ;  and  the  ptc.  lade  at  196.29. 
See  Stratmann,  flean,  (h)laden. 

3  \V.  vndyrstond.  *  stoodc,  801.7.  ^  "'uderstanden,  166.30. 

'°  swere  follows  the  analogy  of  Class  IV  {Romstedt,  p.  44,  VI,  2). 
Cf.  tere. 

'  W.  also  the  contract  '  tane.' 

8  wesshe  is  due  to  the  analogy  of  the  reduplicating  verbs. 

'-'' 7iHissJie  occurs  at  550.19  ;  wass/ied,  at  3S0.11. 

1'^  Romstedt  cites  pret.  7vexe  (Reynard,  1S.13)  and  -vaxe  (Reynard, 
17.14).  The  former  he  attributes  to  the  analogy  of  the  reduplicating 
verbs ;  the  latter,  to  that  of  Class  IV.  (Romstedt,  p.  44,  VI,  i  and  2.) 
waxt  occurs  at  130.31;  7aaxte,  at  463.23.  ■amxed  (S^6.26)  is  common 
also  in  Chaucer.     W.  has  waxyd. 


VERBS—  ABLAUT.  47 

151.  Romstedt  (p.  44,  VI,  i)  attributes  the  -ew-  in  drewe 
and  slcwe  to  the  analogy  of  the  reduplicating  verbs.  Wiclif 
has  both  "  sloo; "  and  "sleu."  '*  Sleu "  occurs  in  the 
Romance  of  Sir  Triamor  (1430,  according  to  Stratmann, 
q.  v.). 

SUMMARY    OF    CHANGES    IX    THE    ABLAUT 

SERIES. 

152.  The  preterit  plural  is  entirely  assimilated  to  the 
preterit  singular.  The  process  of  assimilation,  already  far 
advanced  in  Chaucer,  was  hastened  by  the  rapid  loss  of  the 
plural  sign.  The  sporadic  cases  in  which  the  old  distinc- 
tion seems  to  be  maintained  are  misleading.  Thus  the 
preterit  plural  spoken  (700.26)  is  due  to  mere  confusion  with 
the  participle.  Chaucer  has  ''  speken."  Sivare  appears 
always  to  be  singular,  and  swore  always  plural ;  but  szcare 
is  a  new  preterit,  formed  after  the  analogy  of  Class  IV. 
Chaucer  has  "swoor,"  pi.  "swooren."  The  preterit  holpe 
occurs  only  in  the  plural,  the  singular  being  always  /lalp  (or 
he/pe).  'i^Mt /wipe  occurs  only  once:  f/icse  other  knyghtes  — 
holpe  for  to  synge  masse,  856.20.  Until  some  one  discovers 
a  singular  holpe  or  a  plural  halp,  this  may  stand  as  a  solitary 
survival.^ 

153.  Besides  the  verbs  which  since  Chaucer's  time  have 
gone  over  entirely  to  the  weak  conjugation  {crepe,  lepe,  lete, 
sheete,  slepe,  weepe),  the  following  show  double  forms  in  the 
preterit:  eleue  {elafe,  elefte),  breste  {brast,  brest),  groove  {grezve, 
groiued),  hewe  {hewe,  hezved),  laughe  {lough,  laughed),  synke 
{sanke,  synked),  yelde  {^yolde,  yelded).  Ryue  has  ptc.  ryuen 
and  ryued. 

^  Caxton's  Rubric  seems  also  to  have  a  single  case  :  tiystram  &= 
Isonde  dronken  the  tone  drynke,  I5-35- 


4S  VERBS  —  A  BLA  UT. 

154.  Fare  {fared,  fareii),  waxe  {uiaxcd,  zvaxe?i),  and 
wreke  (wrckyd,  7vrokc)i)  show  a  weak  preterit  and  a  strong 
participle. 

155.  The  confusion  between  the  strong  sytte  and  the 
weak  scttc  appears  already :  eiicry  kny-i^t  scttc  in  his  own  place, 
620.2  ;  t/ie  knyg/it  sat  syr  Bcanmayns  afore  the  danioisel,  220.2. 

156.  The  counter-movement  from  weak  to  strong  appears 
in  the  preterit  ware  and  the  participle  aryuen  (700.22), 
a  rare  variant  for  aryued  (O.  F.  arriver).^ 

157.  The  confusion  between  preterit  singular  and  pret- 
erit plural  accounts  for  the  double  forms  bond  (foimde), 
fond  {founde^,  woke  (tvake),  wesshe  (luasshe). 

158.  Final  -e  seems  to  be  used  with  some  consistency  in 
the  preterit  after  a  single  consonant  to  mark  a  preceding 
vowel  as  long.  Thus  in  Class  I,  Chaucer's  dr^^f,  r^QS, 
shQQn,  etc.,  appear  as  drofe,  rose,  shone,  etc.  In  Class  VI, 
Chaucer's  forsook,  shook,  shoop,  etc.,  appear  as  forsoke, 
shake,  shape,  etc.  But  such  forms  as  droofe  (I)  and  stoode 
(VI)  on  the  one  hand,  and  %uok  (VI)  on  the  other,  show 
license  and  confusion  in  the  application  of  -e. 

(a)  In  Class  IV,  Chaucer's  preterits  bar,  brak,  cam,  spak, 
are  short.  Modern  usage  pronounces  them  long,  and  the 
Morte  d' Arthur  has  bare,  brake,  ca?ne,  spake.  These  forms 
may  indicate  a  transition  of  pronunciation,  the  rare  forms 
brack  and  spack  preserving  the  older  sound.  But  here  again 
the  license  suggested  by  the  parallel  forms  brak  and  brake, 
cam  and  came,  spak  and  spake,  prevents  any  absolute  con- 
clusion. The  form  gate,  moreover,  in  Class  V,  seems  to 
make  against  the  hypothesis. 

1  Quoke,  cited  by  Komstedt  (Reynard,  47.2,  56.20),  shows  that  the 
strong  preterit  given  to  the  weak  verb  "cwakien"  in  Chaucer's  time, 
endured  for  a  while.     Chaucer  has  : 

"  For  ire  he  qtiook,  no  lenger  wolde  he  byde."  —  C.  T.,  1576. 


VERBS  —  ABLA  UT. 


49 


159.  Doubling  of  a  consonant  after  a  short  vowel  appears 
in  the  preterits  bega/me,  rafine,  swalle,  szvamme,  watme  in 
Class  III,  gatte,  satte  in  Class  V. 

160.  Syncopated  participles  in  -ne  appear  in  bor7ie  (IV), 
sent'  (Chaucer,  seene,  adj.),  leyne  (Y),/arfie,  sworne  (VI). 

161.  Alphabetical  List  of  Strong  Verbs  in  the 

MoRTE  D 'Arthur. 


I. 

abydc 

abode 

abyden 

VI. 

(bake) 

bake(fi) 

Ill,  I. 

begynne, 

began,  bcgatine 

begofi/ie 

IV. 

bcre 

bare,  bere 

boren,  boru{e) 

R. 

bete 

bete 

bete{ii) 

R. 

bhnve 

blctve 

bloweii 

IV. 

breke 

brak{e) 

broke{ti) 

HI,  3- 

breste 

braste,  brest{e) 

V,  b. 

byddc 

bad 

Ill,  I. 

bynde 

boHd{e),  boHnd{e) 

bo}ide{ii),  bout, 

I. 

byte 

boot,  bote 

II. 

chesc 

chose 

chosen 

II. 

cleiie 

clafie),  [chfte^ 

cloHcn 

Ill,  I. 

clymbe 

clanwie 

IV. 

come 

cam(e),  come 

come{n) 

VI. 

drawe 

dre^ve 

drawe{ti) 

Ill,  I. 

drynke 

drank{e) 

dronken 

I. 

dryue 

drofe,  droof{e) 

V. 

etc 

etc 

ete{fi) 

R. 

fallc 

fellc,  fylle,  fyl 

falhin) 

VI. 

fare 

'  fared  ^ 

faren 

VI. 

flayne 

II. 

{flyc) 

flewe 

Ill,  I. 

flytige 

fang 

50 


VERBS— ABLAUT. 


VI. 

forsake 

Jorsokc 

forsaken 

Ill, 

3- 

J'yghte 

faught{c) 

foughteii 

111, 

I. 

fynd{e) 

fondic),  /ou/id(c) 

\  fonde(fi),  fond, 
\      founde{ii) 

V. 

gcte 

g<7f(e),  gatte 

geten,  yeten,  gate, 

VI. 

{grauc) 

granen 

R. 

growe 

grcice  \_gro7C<ed ' 

groivcn 

Ill, 

I. 

{gryndi) 

groundyn 

R. 

hatigc 

heuge 

'hanged' 

Ill, 

2. 

hcipe 

halpie),  hoipe,  hclpc 

ho/pen 

VI. 

heue 

hciie 

R. 

hezve 

/le'iue,  \_hewcd' 

he7ven 

R. 

hold{e) 

held{e) 

holdcin-] 

R. 

{be)Jwte 

'hyghfc' 

Ill, 

3- 

kcnie 

carfc^  \_kcn/ci/ ' 

R. 

kiunuc 

k/ieioc' 

kno70c{n) 

VI. 

lade 

VI. 

/augk(e) 

lough,  \Jaughcd ' 

V, 

b. 

^■'^\  OiT'-' 

lay{c) 

/ey/ie,  /aync,  /yen 

R. 

(mowe) 

tJiowen 

IV. 

(be)nome 

Ill, 

I. 

rcnnc 

ran,  ramie 

ronnc 

I. 

rydc 

rod{e) 

ryden 

Ill, 

I. 

ryngc 

range 

I. 

ryiic 

rofc,  roof{e),  rafe 

ryiien,  \_ryucd' 

I. 

{a)ryse 

{a)roos,  {a) rose 

(a)rysen 

V, 

a. 

see 

sa7u(e) 

sene 

11. 

(seet/ie) 

soden 

VI. 

skakr 

s/ioke 

VI. 

sJiapc 

shopc 

shapen 

II. 

sJume 

shccf,  sJioue 

shoueti 

1. 

shryiie 

'  shryned~ 

shryiien 

I. 

shxne 

shone 

VERBS  —  ABLA  UT. 


51 


VI. 

slee 

sloug/i,  s/e7ve 

slayn(e) 

I. 

slode 

I. 

smyte 

smote 

s»iyte(n) 

IV. 

spcke 

sj> a k {<.•),  spack 

spoken 

in, 

I. 

spro7ige 

VI. 

\  stand{e)  \ 
\stond{e)  S 

stood,  sfode 

staiid{e),  stonde 

IV. 

stele 

stale 

stolen 

I. 

{be)stryde 

i^be)strade 

I. 

stryke 

strake,  stroke 

stryken 

I. 

{stryue) 

stroof 

V. 

siycke 

stake,  stack 

Ill, 

I. 

slyngc 

stonge 

s  ton  gen 

III, 

-7 

s7vaUe 

VI. 

swere 

S7varc,  S7L>ore 

sworn{e) 

Ill, 

I. 

swymnie 

S7va7?ime 

III, 

I. 

(s7C'y!l,i^i') 

s7oange 

III, 

1. 

synge 

sa/ige 

songe 

III, 

I. 

synke 

sanke,  [.nv/Zw/ 

V, 

b. 

sytte 

sat(e),  satte 

sytten 

VI. 

take 

took(e'),  toke 

taken 

IV. 

tare 

R. 

throzve 

thre7c<e 

thro7i.ie)i 

Ill, 

I. 

{thrynge) 

thratigie) 

I. 

(f/iryne) 

throfe 

V. 

trade 

VI. 

(i7)7C'akc' 

7ciok{e),  7uake 

VI. 

7cmsshe 

\  7vess]ie,  7C'asske,  ) 
i       [7ciass/icit  ]      \ 

7vasshen 

VI. 

(jaaxe) 

'7ciaxed'],  [joaxte' 

7oaxen 

IV. 

7C'ere 

7uare 

V. 

{7i.>rckc) 

'7vrckyd' 

7C'roke(n) 

Ill, 

3- 

(zareste) 

wrast 

III, 

I. 

7vryjige 

7vro7ig,  rvrange 

52  VERBS—  WEAK. 


wrote  wryten 

wrothc 


I. 

I. 

Ill,  I. 

wryte 

7vrythe 
7uynnc 

Ill,   2. 

yclde 

V. 

ycue 

wan,  wanne  wonne(n) 

\  yolde,  yelde,  yolden,  yelden, 

\     ly  elded  ~\  lyelded~\ 


THE    WEAK    VERB. 

The  classification  is  that  of  Sievers ;  Init  Sievers's  Class  III  {415)  is 
merged  into  Class  I,  as  in  Ten  Brink  (162  b). 

Class  I. 

162.  Preterits  in  -de,  -te  often  drop  the  -e,  and  participles 
in  -d,  -t  often  assume  an  -c. 

(a)  The  full  ending  -ede  has  all  but  disappeared:  dc- 
partede,  716.5. 

163.  Double  forms  in  the  preterit  persist  for  the  verbs 
drede  {dred{de),  drad{de)),  ledc  {Icddc,  /adde),  dwelle  (dwelled, 
dtvelt(e)). 

164.  The  Chaucerian  participles  bleynt  (blenche), 
spreynd  (sprenge),  etc.,  have  disappeared.  Drenchc  makes 
drenc/icil;  but  spreuge  makes  spreiit. 

165.  The  preterits  from  weak  verbs  without  umlaut  of 
the  root-vowel  persist,  in  the  main,  without  variation  : 
thoughte,  hroughte,  wroughte,  soughte,  rmighte  {roughte),  etc. 
But  stretche  makes  pret.  stratched,  and  teld  occurs  once, 
575-18. 

166.  The  pret.  send(e),  35.6,  172.26  (beside  se/ite),  and 
the  pret.  and  ptc.  gyrd,  76.17,  19,  637.27,  694.8  (beside 
gyrte),  persist  from  O.   E.   ( Siegers,  405.4). 


VERBS—  WEAK.  53 


Class  II. 


167.  The  only  important  variation  from  the  Chaucerian 
paradigms  is  the  disappearance  of  the  full  ending  -ede 
(§  162  a). 

(a)  Make  has  only  7nadc  {tnaad{c))  for  pret.  and  ptc. 
The  pret.  prighte  has  given  way  to  the  regular  prycked. 
Bereiic  makes  pret.  bcraftc,  ptc.  bcraftc  and  bereued,  as  in 
Chaucer. 

168.  An  apparent  syncope  of  the  stem  in  the  ptc. 
crystncd,  fasfned,  etc.,  may  be  due  to  the  original  form  of 
the  infinitive   (see  Stmt/iianii,  s.  77'.). 

Verbs  Derived  from  Other  Germanic  Languages. 

169.  Stcrte  makes  pret.  stcrte  and  s/arfe  (Chaucer  also 
asterted);  shryche,  shryc/ied  and  shrykcd  (Chaucer  also 
shrighte)  dye  (deye),  dyed  and  dcd;  rcyse,  reysed,  as  in 
Chaucer. 

170.  Pret. /'/A'  and  ptc./t'/(/^)  (so  Chaucer)  are  regularly 
formed  from  E.  E.  fette(n),  O.  E.  fetian.  But  the  only 
present  in  use  isfefc/ic  (E.  E.  fecche(n),  pret.  feighte  ;  O.  E. 
feccan).  The  persistence  of  these  forms  may  be  due  to 
O.  N.  feta. 

171.  The  double  preterit  forms  thrcstc  {f/urstyd)  and 
thryst  correspond  respectively  to  E.  E.  thraste  (thraesten, 
O.  E.  prSstan)  and  E.  E.  thriiste  (thrusten,  O.  N.  |)rysta). 

172.  Pret.  and  ptc.  pyghte  (so  Chaucer)  are  from  Y..  E. 
picche(n),  M.  Du.  picken,  O.  N.  pikka.  The  form  is 
probably  due  to  analogy. 

Verbs  Derived  from  the  French. 

173.  As  in  Chaucer,  these  verbs  make  regularly  pret. 
-edie)  (see  §  167),  ptc.  -ed. 


54  VERBS  —  INFLECTION. 

174.  Barytone  verbs  in  -er  from  F.  verbs  in  -rer  and  -rir 
syncopate  the  e  of  the  preterit  and  participle : 

couer  (F.  couvrir)  couerd  couerd 

delyuer  (F.  deUvrer)  delyiierd  delyuerd 

(a)  The  preterits  en t red,  offred,  suffred,  etc.,  are  from  the 
presents  entre,  of  re,  suffre  (cf.  §  i68).  But  verbs  in  -er, 
both  French  and  English,  show  variations  which  seem 
merely  graphical.  Thus  gadre  makes  ptc.  gadered  and 
gadred;  eouer  makes  ptc.  couerd :  but  discoiier  makes  dis- 
coueryd;  siiffre  (spelled  also  suffer)  makes  pret.  suffred,  ptc. 
sufferd,  etc. 

175.  The  preterits  caught,  quyte,  hurfe  (so  Chaucer),  and 
also  costc  and  walloptie),  are  formed  by  analogy. 

176.  The  participles  distracte,  atfaynte,  disco7nfyte,  accept, 
mark  the  tendency  to  curtail  Romance  participles  from 
verbs  in  -t,  which  went  so  far  in  Elizabethan  English. 

INFLECTION    OF   THE    PRESENT. 

177.  sh^g.  I,  -e  (sometimes  dropped). 

2,  -est,^  -yst} 

3,  -eth,  -yth,''  -es  ^  (-ys),  -ed} 
plur.  -en,^  -e  (sometimes  dropped). 

^  RBmstedt  prints  -este,  but  cites  no  instances. 

2  The  variants  -yst  and  -yth  are  rare.  In  Books  VI  and  VII  -yst 
occurs  only  tliree  times,  -yth  only  twice.  W.  has  three  cases  of  -yst,  six 
of  -yth.     A  variant  -ys  occurs  at  201.3. 

3  Third  sing. -^j  is  very  rare :  hytoA-enes,  S^^y .2^;  iverches,?>^^.\.  The 
only  case  of  -ys  is  repentys,  836.38. 

*  Third  sing,  -ed :  causrd,  606.31  ;  longed,  615. i,  642.5 ;  pleasyd,  751.32; 
vsed,  j-jLig;  profered,  6'>i2.2g.     Romstedt  ciies  Reynard,  S.^^;  83.21. 

5  Plural  -en:  632,  24.25,  636.11,  643.22,  669.8,  771. 4. 10,  794.24,  797.3. 
Romstedt  (p.  46)  thinks  that  -e  seems  to  be  preferred  after  pronouns. 


VERBS  —  INFLE  C  TION.  55 

Subjunctive,  -e  (sometimes  dropped)  for  all  persons  and 
both  numbers. 

Infitiitive,  -e  (sometimes  dropped). 
hnperative,  -e,  -eth. 
Participle,  -yng{c). 

178.  Chaucer's  contract  forms  for  the  third  person  ("  rit," 
"fint,"  for  "rideth,"  "findeth,"  etc.)  have  disappeared. 

179.  The  plural  -th  seems  to  survive  in  the  following: 
wil yc  a/  that  loueth  me  spekc  with  Merlyn,  47.12  ;  ye  knyghtcs 
a  nan  fit  t/ic  7u/iic/te  goth  to  seke,  etc.,  629.9;  I  praye  you  gyue 
to  me  at  my  ryghtes  t/iat  longeth  to  a  chrysten  man,  858.20; 
al  Jentyl  men  and  lentyl  wymmcn  that  redeth  this  book,  861.4. 
It  will  be  observed  that  all  these  instances  are  in  relative 
clauses.-^     For  men  saith,  see  §  73. 

180.  The  plural  says,  196.23,  if  it  be  not  a  misprint, 
shows  the  northern  -jt  plural  that  occurs  sporadically  in 
Shakspere  {Abbott,  ■^ZTi)- 

181.  The  infinitive  -//  appears  only  in  the  anomalous  and 
preterit-present  verbs.' 

182.  The  plural  form  of  the  imperative  survives,  but  has 
lost  its  plural  force :  ^  syrs  cometh  hyder  (plur.),  133.30; 
holdeth  me  in  your  amies  (sing.),  702.16;  Madame  —  cometh 
on,  572.14;  syr  foloweth  me,  616.17. 

-eii  after  nouns.     The   ending   is    too   rare   in   the  Mortc  d' Arthur   to 
warrant  any  generalization. 

Saync,  1S7.30,  shows  a  syncope  analogous  to  that  seen  in  certain  ptc. 
(see  §  160). 

1  Romstedt  cites  plural  -eth  from  Kcyiiard,  4.21,  44.2,  OS.  19. 

2  Romstedt  cites  several  instances  from  other  verbs  (p.  46).  W.  shows 
a  few  cases:  "  And  sparyd  nott  onto  leyncy  231. 

3  Romstedt  (p.  46)  cites  seven  cases  of  the  plural  imperative  from  the  *<J„, 
Book  of  Curtesye.     In  every  case  the  subject  is  singular. 

There  are  no  cases  in  W. 


56  VERBS  —  INFLECTIOX. 

183.  Presents  in  -ye  make  a  present  participle  in  -eng{e) : 
lyeiige,  243.15;  sayeng,  244.37. ^ 

184.  I'he  southern  participial  ending  -cud-  appears  in 
dryuend,  223.7. 

185.  The  French  participial  ending  -a/i/  appears  only  in 
the  adjectives  arraunt  and  rccrcaunt. 

INFLECTION    OF    THE    PRETERIT. 
A.    Strono  Verbs. 

186.  The  second  person  takes  regularly  the  personal 
ending -('.^V  of  the  weak  conjugation :  s/ctocsf,  219.3;  camyst, 
220.32;  sawcst,  113. 31;  stodcst,  6()-] .iG\  g(7uest,  843.14. 

(a)  The  apparent  survival  of  the  regular  form  for  the 
second  personal  singular  in  a  few  cases  such  as/oud,  192.35, 
proves  to  be  merely  the  omission  of  the  personal  ending  : 
too/;,  1 1 1. 15;  slc7C'i\  220.33,  816.36;  fat?i,  93.1.  In  all  these 
cases  the  vowel  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  first  and  third 
persons  (cf.  §  152). 

187.  The  plural  ends  regularly  in  -e,  -01  surviving  spo- 
radically: 7C'if/idre7ven,  459.20;   chosen,  663.20;   token,  672.33. 

188.  For  -en  of  the  preterit  participle  -r//  appears  as 
a  rare  variant:  corny n,  35.9;  holdyn,  44.22;  betyn,  228.3; 
groundyn,  807.18.  The  verb  wryfe  makes  a  participle 
wryton.  at  850.35   and   851.22.^ 

189.  The  -;/  of  the  participle  is  often  dropped,  as  in 
Chaucer  (see  Romstedt,  p.  47). 

1  Romstedt,  pp.  45,  46.  This  is  doubtless  a  mere  printer's  device  to 
avoid  forms  like  lyyngc. 

2  Romstedt  cites  connynd  ixom.  the  Book  of  Curtesye. 

3  Romstedt  (p.  47)  cites  ptc.  ivreton  (Reynard). 


VERBS— IXFLECTIOiV.  57 


B.    Weak  Verbs. 

190.  It  seems  impossible  to  establish  any  rule  for  the 
occurrence  of  the  -yd  {-id )  variant  in  preterit  and  participle ; 
but  it  may  be  worth  noting  that : 

(a)  it  seems  to  be  somewhat  more  common  in  French 
verbs. 

(b)  it  seems  to  occur  most  commonly  in  stems  ending  in 
a  liquid  (/,  //,  r):  rclyd,  kiwlyd^  ai/Iid,  fewtryd,  scateryd,  feryd, 
sporyd,  a/ig/yd,  disiouct-yd,  or  a  sibilant  (-f,  f,  sh^  soft  g) : 
raryd,  pleasyd^  prcssyd,  drcssid^  lasshyd^  rass/iyd,  aucngyd. 

(c)  it  occurs  also  after  the  dental  /.■  rcpcntyd,  245.27,  and 
after  /'.•  7i'>rkyd,  229.32. 

(d)  a  collation  of  all  the  weak  preterits  in  Books  VI  and 
VII  shows  that  between  seven  and  eight  per  cent,  end  in 
-yd  {-id).     This  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  average. 

191.  The  ending  of  the  second  person  singular  some- 
times omits  the  -d-:  gtn7/(-s/,  21 9.1;  kyUest,  219.3;  soiipcst, 
219.13;  lokesf,  228.30. 

192.  The  plural  -en  occurs  a  few  times :  mef/cii  (Caxton's 
Preface),  saydc//,  40.25,  202.10. 

193.  The  preterit  subjunctive,  in  both  strong  and  weak 
verbs,  has  -e  (often  dropped)  for  all  persons  and  both 
numbers. 

194.  The  prefix  _r-  of  the  participle  is  rare :  y  foudc, 
699-35;  y  hurtc,  744.1S;  _v  sought,  754.1;  .r  imrrcd,  780.27; 
y  sette,  822.32.     It  is  always  printed  separately. 


5S 


?  'ERBS  —  A  NOMA  L  O  C/S. 


CONTRACT    FORMS. 

195.  The  contract  forms  with  nc  survive  here  and  there 
in  the  case  of  anomalous  verbs:  nys,  39.28;  iiysf,  190.22; 
nyll,  81.28  ;  fiylt,  641.17;  no/d,  705.31;  but  fie  was,  703.10. 

196.  The  contract  forms  of  the  infinitive  with  to  are 
rare:  tetnprynte  (Caxton's  Preface,  1.34);  texercyse  {ibid. 
4.1);  tespye,  1 7 1 . 1 7  ;  taccomp/yss/ie,  177.9. 

197.  The  contract  forms  with  t/ion  (Chaucer's  shaltow, 
etc.)  have  disappeared. 


ANOMALOUS    VERBS. 


198. 

Present, 

Preterit. 

Infin.  bee 

(n) 

be{n)  ' 

Ind.     am 

am 

was 

was 

art 

artie) 

were 

were^ 

is 

is  {nys) 

was 

was 

bee(n),  (arn)  be{}i),  ar{e) 

Subj.   be  be 

bee(n)  beeii,"^  be 

Parte,  being  beyng 


were(n) 

were 
were(n) 

bee(n) 


were 


were ' 


tvere  ' 


be{?i),  by{ny 


1  The  left-hand  columns  are  the  Chaucerian  paradigms;   the  right- 
hand  (in  italics),  the  paradigms  from  the  Morte  d' Arthur. 

2  W.  bene. 

•''  Was  occurs  once  for  the  2  sing,  and  once  for  the  plural ;  t/ioti  7vas 
the  man,  300.15  ;  ye  was  lykely,  etc.,  300.33. 
*  Romstedt,  weere  {weren,  rvhereiiS. 

^  Romstedt  cites  two  instances  of  'ivavc,  one  sing.,  the  other  plur. 
^  Ptc.  byn  is  rare. 


VERBS  —  A  NOMAL  O  US. 


59 


199.        Present. 
Infin.   doo(n}       doo,  done  ^ 


Preterit. 


Ind.     doo 
doost 
dooth 


don 
Subj.    doo 


doon 


Parte,  doing 


doo 

doest,  dost'^ 
doth 

doo,  done^ 

doo 
doo 


doyng 


200. 

Ind 


Present. 

7vyl,  wylle, 


(  7vyi,  jcytlt 
wil,  wol  X  7vi/ie,  2s.nI, 

(  wol'' 
wilt,  wolt  wylt,  zi'olt 
wil,  wol      wylle,  7vyl 


dide,  etc. 


dyde,  etc. 


doon 


do7ie.,  doon,  doo* 


Preterit. 
wold,  etc.         wold(e),  etc. 


•1  1     (  7ifi//(e), 

wiln,  wqln  -  ^  ^ 

(.  7cy//(e) 

wil,  wqI     7<:m'/,  7oo//'^ 


1  Infin.  done  occurs  once,  444.33,  with  cfoo  in  the  next  line :  co/i- 
syderyng  the  grete  dedes  of  amies  I  hatie  setie  you  done  sha?nefully  and 
vnknyi^htely  / hatte  requyrcd yoit  to  doo  bataillc. 

2  Romstedt,  doost. 

3  Plur.  done,  509.5. 

*  Ptc.  mysdoo,  6S6.22. 

5  wol  is  rare,  59.8. 

^  7i'oll  (2d  person,  plur.),  42.22. 


60 


VERBS  —  PRETERIT-PRESENT. 


PRETERIT-PRESENT    VERBS. 


201.       Frcsciit. 
Infin.  conne(n)   lonnc'^ 


Freterit. 


Ind.     can 
canst 
can 


cati^  oiniie 
canst  - 
can 

3 


conne(n),  (can) 

ia?i,  am 

202.        Pre 

sc 

nt. 

[nd.      dar 

dare' 

darst 

darst{e) 

dar 

dar{e) 

kouthe,  7 
koude    ) 


CfliitJu\  Cfliidicf 


Preterit. 
dorste  durst{e) 


Preti-rit. 


mighte 


tnyght{e) 


dor,  (dar)        dar{e) 

203.       Present. 

Infin.  mowc ' 

Ind.      may  may{e) 

might  \  mayst{c), 

(mayst)  I  maist^ 
may  may{e) 

mowe(n),     )  .  ,y 

^   -'\    -  niaviey 

mow,  (may)  ) 

1  Infin.  coti7ic  occurs  twice,  176.34  (the  passage  shows  plain  reminis- 
cences of  the  language  of  some  older  text),  820.22.     ^  Romstedt,  canste. 

3  Plur.  coil  occurs  at  269.22.      Ivomstedt,  conne.  *  W.  cowde. 

s  Romstedt  cites  an  infinitive  do)-e  (Reynard,  72.25). 

^  \  2  sing,  durst  seems  to  occur  at  192.31  :  Iiere  are  aduentiires  nere 
hand,  and  ttiou  durst /r«/t'  hem.      It  may,  however,  be  a  preterit. 

'Infin.  iiioxvc  occurs  at  122.26.  Romstedt  cites  Reynard,  4.10; 
Blanchardyn,  14.8.  **  luaxste,  131. 14.  i-^^  doubtless  a  misprint. 

5  The  subjunctive  is  maye.  Rimistedt  cites  three  cases  of  subjunc- 
tive tno7c'c  from  Blanchardyn. 


VERBS  —  PRE  TERIT-PRESEXT. 


61 


204.        Pnstnt. 
Ind.      moot  tfiote^ 

moost 
moot 


moote(n),  moot 
Subj.   moote        ftiofe'^ 

205.        Present. 

Ind.      shal  slial.,  shallie) 

shalt  shalt 

shal  sJial,  shall{e) 


shullen,  shuln,  (  shal., 
shul,  (shal)      (  shallief 

206.        Prcscuf. 
Infill,   wite(n)      -ii.'cte 


Ind.     wc^c^t  icote 

\  7i'otest,* 
(  7cetest 

WQQt  7L'0fe 


W^QSt 


moste 


sholde 


wiste 


Preterit, 
muste 


J'reterit. 
shold'^ 


Preterit. 


7vist(e),  tvystie) 


witen  (wQQt)    7oete,  7Vote 
.Subj.    wite  7vete 

Imper.  wite  7vete.,  7C'yt(ey' 


1  mote  occurs  twice  :  once  in  the  indicative,  67.9  ;  once  in  the  sub- 
junctive, 592.27.  The  preterit  muste  is  used  for  all  forms,  preterit  and 
present. 

'■^  Romstedt  cites  slnd,  simile,  from  Reynard. 

^  Romstedt  also  slntlde,  shoiilde. 

••  Romstedt  zuoosf.     wetest  occurs  at  379.14. 

^  Rcimstedt  also  wyfte. 


62  VERBS  —  S  YNTAX. 


2Q1.       Present.  Preterit. 


Ind.     owe  owe 

owe  St         owest 
oweth        oweth 


oughte  oiighte 


208.  Anomalous  and  preterit-present  verbs  sometimes 
omit  the  personal  ending  of  the  second  person  singular, 
particularly  when  the  pronoun  thou  follows  the  verb :  what 
wold  thou  do,  510.4;  queue  gucneuer  shold  thou  neuer  see, 
207.5;  ^C'orsh/f)  may  thou  ?U)>ie  /ese  In'  me  yf  thou  mayst 
statide  /ne  thre  strokes,  283.4.  Cf.  also  thou  shall  not  chese, 
198.2  I ;    thou  oughte  of  ryght  to  hate  her,  276.5. 

(a)  The  omission  appears  twice  in  other  verbs  :  thou 
kepte,   262.37;    T^^'hat  cast  thou  for  to  do,   774.1.^ 

209.  The  tendency  to  uniformity  appears  in  the  dis- 
carding of  distinctively  plural  forms,  such  as  conne,  dor, 
Mowe,  and  shulle,  and  of  syncopated  forms  such  as  woost. 

THE    SUBJUNCTIVE. 

Subjunctive  in  Conditional  Sentences. 

210.  The  present  subjunctive  stands  regularly  in  the 
protasis  of  anticipatory  and  ideal  *  conditions : 

(a)  with  and,  and  yf  etc. :  niochc  harme  he  wille  doo  and 
he  lyue,  92.35;  And  yf  that  he  trouble  yo7c>  —  /  shalle  be  your 
rescowe,  197.9;  ond  thou  do,  thou  shall  repente  it,  224.26;  and 
he  be  suehe  a  knyghte  as  ye  make  hyni,  he  wyllc  lud,  etc., 
2 28. 34;   /  7i'ill  7vith  all  my  hcrte  —  and  it  please  hym  to  take, 

^  W.  Sawe  hou  owte  (aught),  254. 

2  The  terminology  for  conditional  sentences  is  taken  from  Gilder- 
sleeve's  Latin  Grammar,  where  "ideal  condition"  is  thus  explained: 
"  The  Ideal  Conditional  Sentence  represents  the  matter  as  still  in  sus- 
pense. The  supposition  is  more  or  less  fanciful,  and  no  real  test  is  to 
be  applied."     The  other  terms  are  self-explaining. 


THE  SUBJUNCTIVE.  63 

etc.,  232,23;  and  there  ryse  war  re  —  there  wille  many  kyiiges 
hold  with  syr  Lau/urh>t,  797.34;  a /id  thou  chauffe  me  any 
more,   I  sJial  make  stryke  of  thy  heed,   840.4. 

(b)  with  but,  hut  yf,  etc.:  ye  shal/e  iieuer  Jtaue  the  better 
of  yotir  enemyes  but  yf  your  persone  be  there,  39.16;  but  yf 
thou  telle  me,  thou  slwilt  iieuer  eseape,  244.13;  hors  iie  harueys 
getest  thou  none —  but  yf  thou  wynne  //(■;//,  222.11. 

(c)  double  conditions:  ^ahether  it  be  soo  or  no,  202.26; 
whether  that  I  be  gentylman  borne  or  none,  230.1;  Tyde  me 
deth  betyde  me  lyf —  he  sha/l  neuer  escape,  847.1. 

(d)  The  preterit  subjunctive  appears  in  indirect  dis- 
course :  the  book  sayth  —  in  no  zvyse  he  wold  med/e  7vith  the 
queue  and  sir  Launcehd  were  in  her  eompany,  773.6. 

211.  The  place  of  the  preterit  subjunctive  in  anticipa- 
tory and  ideal  conditions  is  taken  by  periphrases  with  might 
and  shold :  I  maye  not  noiu  but  yf  I  shold  be  founde  fats, 
1 12.18;  //  7C'ere  grete  ioye  vnto  ts  a  He  and  It  it  myghte  please 
the  kynge  to  make  her  his  queue,  37.33;  he  ?nyghte  not  take  it 
oute  of  her  haude  onles  he  sholde  haue  h/irte  her,  82. 26. 

212.  Even  the  present  subjunctive  is  sometimes  dis- 
placed by  periphrases  with  may  and  shall :  and  yf  it  may 
happe  nw  to  wynne  hym,  thenne  senile  kynge  Arthur  be  my 
good  and  gracious  lord,  80.15.^ 

213.  The  preterit  subjunctive  appears  in  both  the  pro- 
tasis and  the  apodosis  of  unreal  conditions :  and  he  were 
not  my  sone,  I  durst  saye,  etc.,  124.10;  yf  ye  were  suche 
fyfty  as  ye  be,  ye  were  not  able,  etc.,  167.15;  and  ye  were 
better  than  ye  ar  ye  were  7ael  byicaryd  7pon  hym,  246.17  ;  yf 

1  Periphrases  with  zciil  and  wold  also  occur,  but  with  the  sense  of 
willingness  proper  to  this  auxiliary :  t/uit  icvl/r  I  not  onlfs  that  tltoio  wilt 
yeue  me  the  bracket,  1 1 1.30  ;  and  ye  wold  hold  yo7a  stille,  I  willc  under- 
take, etc.,  5S1.21. 


64  VERBS  —  S  YNTAX. 

launcelot  were  hox  thcniic  were  7vc  7vcl  at  case,  691.21 ;  yf  we 
other  7vayes  dyd,  7oe  were  shamed  for  etter,  774.19. 

.(a)  Unreal  conditions  witli  as  (*  as  if):  he  ra)i  a7vey  as 
he  were  wood,  199.6;  as  though  he  were  a  lordes  so/ie,  214.21.-^ 
(b)  Protasis  implied :  //  were  shame  for  me  to  see  thre 
kny-i/cs  on  one,  200.15;  that  were  hdhe  to  doo,  200.35;  to  yelde 
TS  7'nto  hym  it  were  Jio  ?-eson,  200.37;  //  were  as  good  for  yon 
to  hohl  yon  styll,  223.1;   thou  were  better  fee,  228.33. 

214.  But  except  in  the  case  of  the  verbs  be  and  hane  the 
subjunctive  in  the  apodosis  of  unreal  conditions  is  com- 
monly supplanted  by  shotd  with  the  infinitive:  that  ye  shold 
\icL\iQ.fonnde  and  we  myghte  Jiane  stered from  one  stede,  138.13; 
alle  her  knyghtes  shold  not  lyghtely  wynne  me,  and  me  lyste  to 
fyghte,  148.20. 

Subjunctive  in  Indefinite  Relative  Clauses. 

215.  A  present  subjunctive,  corresponding  to  the  present 
subjunctive  of  ideal  condition,  appears  in  indefinite  relative 
clauses  :  ivhat  auentnre  so  befalle  me  I  luille  not  7uete  my  lady 
to  be  in  no  ieopardy,  120.30;  what  knyghtes  someiier  they  be 
I  care  not,  221.4;  I  take  no  force,  but  whether  as  Jixni  lyst 
hym  self  (x.-e..,  '  whichever  of  the  two  he  pleases'),  230.15; 
what  sonu'uer  he  be,  he  is  conie/i  (fa  noble  blood,  231.33; 
cohere  someuer  thou  mete  my  lord,  264.10;  7L'hat  someuer 
come  of  me,  8 01.2 5.- 

216.  The  place  of  the  preterit  subjunctive  in  such 
clauses  is  supplied  by  sJudd  with  the  infinitive :  7uho  shold 
saye  soo  )iow  he  sho/d  be  a  lyar,   61S.19. 

1  The  following  instance  is  doubtful :  .-///<7.r  it  is  shame  —  to  see  suc/ie 
a  ladde  to  jnatche  suche  a  kny<^htc  as  the  wede  ouer  grewe  the  come, 
224.1;  i.e.,  'as  if  the  weed  should  over-top,'  though  grewe  may  he 
indicative  and  as  simply  modal. 

^  W.  Thowe  wylt  worke,  yf  )'0u  hungyr  welle, 
What  worke  hat  the  fie  brought,  356. 


THE   SUBJUXCTIVE.  65 

217.  Even  the  present  subjunctive  is  sometimes  sup- 
planted by  an  auxiliary  periphrasis,  usually  with  shall,  some- 
times with  may:  wJiat  aJucntiire  shalle  falle  to  mc  —  /  luillc 
take,  96.35;  Gryjiet  —  is — ////  desyroiis  in  armes,  and  who 
may  see  hy?n  hue  he  shal  prciie  a  good  k/iyghte,  123.36. 

218.  On  the  other  hand,  the  general  relative  clause,  in 
which  the  reference  is  definite,  takes  the  indicative :  ivho  so 
bannyssheth  ;;/)■  cosy/i  germayn  shall  hannysshe  7}ie,  140.13; 
ivho  that  trespaceth  ageynst  our  ordre  dothc  not  7ocl,  656.27. 

Subjunctive  in  Temporal  Clauses. 

219.  A  present  subjunctive,  corresponding  to  the  pres- 
ent subjunctive  in  anticipatory  and  ideal  conditions,  stands 
regularly  in  temporal  clauses  looking  toward  the  future  and 
involving  the  idea  of  condition,  doubt  or  contingency: 
bynde  thy  Yaounde  or  thy  Idee  chaunge,  176.32;  he  must  luste 
or  he  passe,  96.  iS;  7i.ie  shalle  neuer  departe  tyl  the  one  of  I's  be 
dede,  195 -6;  /  shalle  ahyde  tyl  god  send  yow  here  ageyne, 
206.5;  'i'-'"'-^''  l<^'  '''t'jVc  tyl  thou  come  to  (jitene  Gueneuer,  21 1.6; 
/  trieste  to  god  to  sertte  hym  or  he  departe,  220.35;  J'''  ^^'''''' 
shalle  departe  —  tyl  the  adiientnre  brynge  yow  to  the  mavmed 
kynge,  706.19.^ 

(a)  The  preterit  subjunctive  in  parallel  cases  is  rare : 
syre  Eetor  wold  not  ajvey  til  Gawayne  were  Jiole,   690.7. 

(b)  The  indicative  is  very  rare:  1 2oylle  go  vnto  my  hedde 
and  neuer  aryse  7'ntyl  I  -cliw  dede,  151. 19  (where  Pelleas  thinks 
of  his  death  as  beyond  contingency). 

220.  The  preterit  subjunctive  sometimes  appears  in 
temporal  clauses  dependent  on  unreal  conditions  or  parallel 
constructions  :    /  shold  make  sir  Alellyagraiinee  herte  fi/l  eold 

1  W.  Tyll  myne  husboiul  lome  and  se,  18S;  For  l>ou  schalt  worke  or 
euer  ^ou  goo,  344. 


66  I  'EJ^BS  —  S  i  '\TAX. 

or  eicer  I  departed,  780.3;  I  had  leuer  than  to  be  h)rd  of  a  I 
crystendome  that  I  had  sure  armour  7'pon  me,  that  men  myghte 
speke  of  my  dedes  or  ciier  I  were  s/ayne,  801.37. 

221.  Temporal  clauses  referring  to  what  is  past  and 
actual,^  take  the  indicative :  he  rode  ey:^t  dayes  or  he  met  7uith 
a  lien  tare,  94.22. 

Subjunctive  in  Final  Clauses. 

222.  The  present  subjunctive  occurs  rarely  in  final 
clauses  after  a  present  tense  :  //  is  no7c>  your  parte  to  ho/de 
7vith  the  qiiene  that  she  be  not  s/ayne,  806. g. 

(a)  A  corresponding  preterit  subjunctive  occurs  rarely 
after  a  past  tense:  shold  not  he  doo  gretc  foly  that  ivold  lete 
these  tiuo  floivres  perysshe  for  to  socoiire  the  rotten  tre  that  hit 
felle  not,   674.28. 

223.  The  preterit  subjunctive  also  occurs  in  final  clauses 
after  a  present  tense:  hyhe  (*hie')  the  fast  that  thou  were 
gone,  827.16;  heipe  me  that  /were  on  my  hors,  746.7;  helpe 
me  7p  that  I  were  there,  746.13.^ 

224.  But  final  clauses  usually  employ  auxiliary  peri- 
phrases. 

(a)  with  may  and  myghte :  ayde  jue  that  I  maye  be 
crystned,  177.6;  I  wylle  that  my  moder  t>e  sen  te  for  that  /may 

1  Kellner  {Outlines,  p.  241)  fails  to  make  this  distinction  in  discussing 
temporal  clauses.  Thus  the  indicative  in  the  following  instances  cited  by 
him  is  the  regular  English  construction  where  a  past  fact  is  referred  to 
without  any  idea  of  contingency:  "  Bifore  hat  ^ho  wiMi  childe  wass." 
Orm,  6484.  "  vSeynt  Poul  him  self  was  there  a  phisicien  before  he  was 
converted."  Maufuicvillc,  p.  123.  These  instances  are  not  parallel 
with  the  next  citation  :  "  Pause,  ere  thou  rejectest."  Byron,  Man/red, 
II,  I,  which  looks  to  the  future,  and  indicates  the  decay  of  the  sub- 
junctive. 

-  W.  Nowe  helpe  )ns  lyne  7w;v  dyght,  465.  For  the  subjunctive  in 
complementary  final  clauses  see  §  232. 


THE  SUBJUXCTIVE.  67 

speke  toith  her^  67. iS;  //  is  best  yc  siiffre  tyll  atiothcr  tyme 
that  we  may  havie  /lym  out  of  the  coui'te,  104.12;  made  hem 
dene  of  her  lyf  that  her  prayer  myghte  be  tJie  more  acceptable, 
40.15;  I dyd  so  that  /myghte  haue  a  syghte  of  her,  149.7.^ 

(b)  more  commonly  with  shold :  I  suppose  we  7vere  se/ife 
for  that  I  shold  be  dishonoured,  35.15;  to  theude  that  his 
enemy es  shold  not  escape,  172.35;  y^r  this  cause  he  bare  the 
reed  sleue  that  none  yf  {^\c,  i.  e.,  of)  his  bhwd  shold  knowe  hy?n, 
751.22;  putte  ipon  hit  a  gloue  that  it  shold  not  be  aspyed, 
782.3.^  In  the  following,  tnyghte  and  sholde  occur  side  by 
side :  /  did  it  to  this  entent  that  it  sholde  better  thy  courage, 
and  that  ye  myght  see  and  knoiue  her  falshede,  95.29. 

Subjunctive  in  Consecutive  Clauses. 

225.  The  present  subjunctive  appears  very  rarely  in 
consecutive  clauses  looking  to  the  future :  (Be)  not  soo 
hardy  —  that  thou  slee  /n'w,  224.15;  (Be)  not  soo  hardy  — 
but  thou  saue  hym,  227.15;  and  therto  make  a  pofnel  of 
precyous  stones  that  it  be  soo  subtylly  tnade  that  no  man 
perceyue  it,  697.33. 

226.  Consecutive  clauses  regularly  take  the  indicative : 
he  ransaked  the  thre  woundes  that  they  bled  a  lytyl,  794.37; 
he  shalle  do  you  remedy  that  youre  herte  shal  be pleasyd,  36.13.^ 

Subjunctive  in  Concessive  Clauses. 

227.  The  present  subjunctive  stands  regularly  in  con- 
cessive clauses:    though  that  I  be  so  pourely  clothed — me 

^  For  irregular  tense-sequence  in  final  clauses  with  may  and  myghte 
see  §  261,  c. 

2  Wold  occurs  after  lest:  he  dressid  hym  thens  ward,  teste  folke  wold 
say  he  had  slayne  them,  96.1. 

3  The  subjunctive  in  the  following  consecutive  clause  is  conditional : 
he  rored  and  romed  so  hydously  that  it  were  menteill  to  here,  165.13. 
See  §  213,  b. 


68  VERBS  —  S  YNTA  X. 

setneth  I  a»i  fully  assurcil,  77.27  ;  parauetitur  though  he  hate 
yow  he  hath  soinmc,  etc.,  140.35;  be  a  kuy-if  neuer  so  good  — 
they  wille  wake  hy//i  a  stark  coiuard,  143.19;  though  this 
knyght  be  iieucr  soo  J'als  I  7ciyl  /leuer  slee  hytn  slepyngc,  15 1.4; 
though  thcyr  message  please  7iie  not  —  yet  I  must  reuiemhre 
myu  honour,  t6i.6;  /  701  lie  not  flee,  though  thou  be  aferd  of 
hym,  265.29;  be  //*'  neuer  so  strong,  here  he  may  he  preued, 
577.16;   though  he  seke  me,  he  shalle  not fynde  me,  590.16.' 

(a)  The  indicative  is  rare :  thou^^  ye  ar  neuer  so  good  a 
kny-i^t  as  ye  7C'0te  7ucl  ye  ar — yet  s hold  ye  be  aduysed,  7S3.15. 

Subjunctive  in  Indirect  Question. 

228.  The  preterit  subjunctive  occurs  sometimes  in  indi- 
rect questions:   asked  Alerlyn  7vhat  eouneeill  \\q.xq.  best,  39.27; 
But  in  no  7iyse  I  7ciold  that  he  7i'ist  7i.'Iiat  I  were,  /'///  that 
I  were  another  straunge  lady,    245.16;    7oolde  to  god  that  I 
Tcysfe  7vhere  were  that  tray  tour,  8  46.2  5. 

229.  But  the  indicative  is  the  reguhir  construction :  7s.<e 
wote  not  7uho  is  he,  571.12;  the  kynge  lete  serehe  hotv  moehe 
people  —  there  was  slayne,  123.7;  ^'^'  d^ked  hir  —  7vhos  was 
the  child,  38.10;  7i.'e  thou-i,t  to  preue  7cdu'ehe  of  7's  bothe  was 
better  ktiy^t,  105.29. 

Subjunctive  in  Substantive  Clauses. 

230.  The  subjunctive  appears  in  clauses  of  apposition 
used  to  make  up  a  periphrasis  that  has  the  force  of  a  condi- 
tional particle:  so  be  hit  that  thou  he  not  he,  194.18;  he  shal 
haue  his  lyf  7pon  this  eouenant  that  he  goo,  etc.,  240.26;  / 
7ail  lueh  7oith  this  (i.  e.,  on  this  condition,  that)  he  make  her 
ame?idys,  240.28. 

1  W.  Much  hungyr  yt  schall  be  thyne 

Though  \>o\x  make  much  mone,  380. 


THE  SUBJUXCTIVE.  69 

231.  The  present  subjunctive  appears  in  explanatory 
clauses  of  apposition  expressing  a  contemplated  action, 
after  "it  is  best"  and  similar  phrases:  //  is  best  that  tve 
brynge  you  to  somme  to2une,  847.33;  ''^  '^  better  ye  doo  not, 
69.21;  //  wylle  be  best  ye  hold  yo7C'  sty/Ie,  S03.19;  //  is  more 
yoiire  7i'orship  that  ye  rescowe  the  queue,  806.26. 

(a)  The  preterit  subjunctive  in  parallel  cases  is  rare,  its 
place  being  usurped  commonly  by  shold  with  the  infinitive 
(§  289):  //  were  7oe/  done  sayd  the  hereniyte  that  ye  made  yon 
redy,  856.35;   it  were pyte ye  lyued  ony  hunger,  684.5.^ 

232.  The  subjunctive  stands  regularly  in  "complementary 
final  clauses  "  "  after  expressions  of  wish,  request,  charge^ 
command,  etc. 

I.    present  subjunctive. 

(a)  after  praye  and  byseehe :  I  praye  to  god  that  lie  send 
yaw  honour  and  worsJiip,  145.19;  p>'(-^y  hyjn  that  he  be  of 
good  herte,  234.16;  praye  ye  to  the  hyghe  fader  that  he  hold 
me  in  his  seruyse,  709.31;  I  byseehe  the  —  that  my  syniple 
7Vorshyp  and  honeste  be  saued,   794.32. 

(b)  after  7cylh-:  I  7cy/  that  syre  Constantyn  be  niyn  heyer, 
164.26;  I  7oyI  that  thou  make  the  redy,  175.29;  I  7cy/  that 
thou  wete  and  knowe,  195.2  ('  1  wish  you  to  understand  '). 

(c)  after  eouneeil/e,  eharge,  eoniniande :  I  eounceille  yoio  that 
7C'e  departe,  35.16;  this  is  my  eouneeil  that  our  kyng — sende, 
etc'  47.34;  /  eharge  the  —  that  tho70  neuer  destresse  710 
kny-^tes,  134.20;  eharge  hyni  that  he  be  redy,  255.20;  I  eoni- 
mande  —  that  ye  kepe  vcu'  7cnthin,  40.28;  I  eoniniande  the  that 
thou  forsake  my  eompanye,  854.20. 

(d)  after  bydde,  etc. :  byd  hyni  —  tJiat  lie  clayme  \e  eroune, 
39.37;  bad  hem  sytte  sty //  that  none  of  hem  remeue,  104.19; 
my  lortt — sendeth  the  70ord  that  tho'ic  araye  the,  649.30. 

1  W.  That  I  hadJt'  somewliat  for  to  ete  — 

Me  thynketh  yt  were  ryght,  235. 
^  The  term  is  borrowed  from  f  lildersleeve's  Tatin  Grammar. 


70  VERBS  —  S  YXTAX. 

(e)  after  lokc,  waytc,  beiuarc :  lake  ye  a!  Barons  be  bifore 
kynge  I'ther  to  f/ionie,  39.29;  /oke  that  the  t/ire  k/iyg/ites  haue 
al  whyte  sheldcs,  190.34;  7uaytc  ye  make  not  many  questions, 
37.9;  awayte  ye  be  redy,  18S.12;  beware  ye  be  fiot  defoyled, 
77.1.1 

2.  preterit  subjunctive,  after  7uold :  I  loold  he  receyued  //, 
199.30  ('I  should  like  to  have  him  receive  it');  she  loold  not 
it  were  knoweu,  136.26  ('she  did  not  wish  it  to  be  known  '); 
1 7vo/d  haue  ye  ^\ere  hens,  229.13  ('I  should  like  to  get  you 
away  from  here');  I  7uold  fayne  ye  sawe  her,  241.31;  what 
woldest  thaw  that  /dyd,  647.15  ;  I  -wold  that  ye  lefte  alle  this, 
797.30. 

(a)  Except  after  7C'old,  the  preterit  subjunctive  in  this 
construction  is  almost  entirely  supplanted  by  sho/d  with  the 
infinitive  (§  291,  b).  In  the  following  the  two  stand  side 
by  side  :  the  kyng  charged  that  he  shold  gyue  hym  —  of  the 
best,  and  also  that  Jie  hadde  at  ma/ier  of  fyndynge,  214.19, 

233.  The  preterit  subjunctive  is  used  in  object  clauses 
after  7O0ld,  to  express  an  extravagant  or  unattainable  wish. 
The  construction  is  parallel  with  that  of  unreal  conditions 
(§  213)  :  Ihesu  -wold  that  the  hidy  of  the  castel  periUous  were 
so  fayre,  246.5;  god  wold — that  they  were  all  thre  here, 
7I5-I5-  ' 

234.  The  present  subjunctive  is  used  to  express  doubt 
or  uncertainty  in  object  clauses  after  verbs  of  thinking,  sup- 
posing, etc.:  I  trowe  //be  not  ye  that  hath  slayne  my  husband, 
205.17  ;  they  -wene  that  he  be  some  man  of  worship,  221.36.- 

1  Vox  the  infinitive  with  tuill,  less  commonly  with  shall,  in  parallel 
cases  see  §§  291  c,  303.     Cf.  also  Abbott,  311,  p.  220,  and  369,  p.  269. 

2  W.  I  trowe  )>at  he  be  schent,  258.  Walker  cites  from  Sidney's 
Arcadia  :  "  And  I  think  there  she  ito  dwell  "  {Abbott,  foot-note  to  p.  267). 

The  preterit  snl^junctive  in  parallel  cases  is  very  rare,  and  may  be  due 
to  the  attraction  of  a  preceding  subjunctive:  a;iit  I  vjiJerstode  that  she 
were  not  glad  of  iny  comynge,  etc.,  237.18  (cf.  Abbott,  §  36S,  p.  267). 


THE   IXFIXITIVE.  71 

Imperative  Subjunctive. 

235.  The  first  person  plural  of  the  imperative  is  supplied 
by  a  hortatory  subjunctive,  which  appears  side  by  side  witli 
the  periphrasis  "  let  us,"  etc.:  Ncnv  leue  we  of  these  knyghtes, 
and  lete  vs  speke  of  the  girtc  a  ray,  257.11;  ryde  7c<e  hens, 
95.11;   niatehe  7ve  to  gyih'rs,  106.19.^ 

236.  The  third  person  of  the  imperative  is  expressed  by 
the  subjunctive:  wo  worth  this  sicerd,  132.31;  he  that  alle 
the  world  weldeth  gyue  the  short  lyf  and  shameful  dethe,  16S.1  ; 
Idanie  haue  she,  34S.29;  no7o  forgyue  //  the  i^od,  667.35;  neiier 
none  be  soo  hardy,  694.9;  he  haue  shame  that  luyl/e  leue  ycm>, 
828. 38;    FaWe  of  hit  7Cihat  falle  n/ay,  'j()'j. ^2.- 

THE    INFINITIVE. 
Infinitive  with  and  without  to. 

237.  The  simple  infinitive  (without  to)  persists  after  the 
auxiliaries,  and  after  certain  other  verbs,  of  which  the  most 
common  are  bydde,  here,  lete,"  see}     But  the   use  of  to  with 

1  W.  Pray  xvc  to  Ihesu  full  of  myght,  650.  The  construction  is  com- 
mon in  Shakspere  :  "  do  we  so,"  Merch.  Vcii.  II,  8.53. 

"  But  ,i,'v  zi'f  in,  I  pray  thee,  Jessica, 
And  ceremoniously  let  us  preparey  ibid.  \',  i.  36. 

2  W.  god^t'//c'  the  care,  463.  Yox  Shakspere's  use  of  this  construc- 
tion see  Abbott,  364. 

Similar  is  the  familiar  optative  subjunctive  in  asseverations  :  \V.  So 
god  me  sane,  37  ;  so  lunic  I  hele,  140;  so  god  me  spede,  210. 

3  And  in  one  case  siiffrc  :  stiff  red — -Segwarvdes  ryde  after  vie,  300.19. 
Kellner  (p.  Ixiv,  §  26)  cites  one  instance  after  suffre  and  one  after  eiyde. 

■*  In  one  case  even  after  the  passive  participle:  There  were  iieiter 
knyghtes  sene  fyghte  more  fyersly,  307.1. 

The  simple  infinitive  seems  to  be  common  after  verbs  of  advising, 
but  the  cases  are  doubtful:  I  rede  you  not  iolowe,  244.5;  "•■t-'e  aduyse  you 
ryde  not  (where  ryde  may  be  a  subjunctive,  or  an  imperative),  244.7;  -^ 
cotineeylle  the  flee,  222.34. 

The  following  may  be  due  to  a  printer's  omission :  hit  happed  hyni 
to  leye  hym  doune  slepe,  33S.2S. 


72  VERBS  —  SYXTAX. 

the  infinitive  has  increased  largely  since  Chaucer's  time. 
Not  only  is  it  found  regularly  after  verbs  which  in  Chaucer's 
time  were  invariably  followed  by  the  simple  infinitive,  but  in 
the  majority  of  cases  there  is  an  evident  wavering  between 
the  older  habit  and  the  new.^  Thus  A;i,n7///t'  takes  in  almost 
every  case  the  infinitive  with  to^  but  in  one  case  the  simple 
infiniti\e  appears :  the  fico  kyngcs  saioc  Jioii  hcgyti  waxe 
7c>rot/u\  50.21.  On  the  other  hand,  even  hydde,  /laue,  jnake, 
see,  verbs  which  in  mod.  E.  are  followed  by  the  simple 
infinitive,  sometimes  take  the  infinitive  with  to:  ye  shal 
bydik  Laioieelflt  ihi  lake  to  make  Die  kny-i^f,  216.26;  sought  — 
for  to  Jiaiie  hir  to  come  oi/te,  S40.14;  yet  ha,/  I  leucr  to  dye, 
187.T1;  and  yf  ye  ean  make  Iiyiii  to  abyde //(Vr,  246.16;  to 
see  siieJie  a  ladde  to  matche  siieJie  a  kiivghte,  223.35. 

Ought  is  followed  by  either  construction  :  7C'eI  oi/ghte  oure 
lord  be  syg)iefyed  to  an  herte,  703.19;  //  ought  not  to  be  do/ie 
azoay,  694.9. 

Infinitive  with  for  to. 

238.  The  infinitive  withy^v  to  is  used  properly  to  express 
purpose:  I  arose — for  to  helpe  an  old  felaiue,  201.14.'-  l^ut 
in  the  Morte  d^ Arthur  it  has  a  much  wider  scope: 

(a)  subject:    me  ought fu-  to  (too,  201.1c). 

(b)  object:    they  heganne  for  to  stryue,  i'$>G. 11 


z 


1  pior  the  persistence  of  this  wavering  in  Shakspere,  see  Abbott,  349. 
W.  has : 

(a)  the  infinitive  after  "gan"  five  times  with  to,  ten  times  without. 

(b)  the  infinitive  without  A' after  "wyst ":    I   wyst  my  lord  neuer  do 
ryght  noght,  59S  (mod.  E.  '  I  never  knew  him  do  anything'). 

(c)  the  infinitive  with  to,  and  even  \\\\\\  for  to,  after  "bade": 

And  l)ade  hem  fast  for  to  -i'vudc. 

Or  ellys  to  leti  he  hys  dede,  509. 
2  \V.    Ther  sche  toke  hym  a  bonde 

For  to  occupy  hys  honde,  226. 
'■'■  W.    Lerne  for  to  swete,  225. 


THE   IXFIXITIVE.  73 

(c)  apposition:    tJiat  is  for  to  sayc^  212.22. 

(d)  complementary,  with  adjectives :  ah'/  for  to  hauc 
f/i(it(/u'd  'u'ith  7'^,  87.14.^ 

In  short,  the  infinitive  with  for  to  is  used  commonly  with- 
out differentiation  from  the  infinitive  with  to.  Sometimes 
the  two  occur  side  by  side  in  the  same  construction  :  re*  s/iat 
promysc  me — for  to  go  with  iiic  and  to  helpe  ))u\  193.7  ;  // 
were  fairer  to  take  homage  —  than  for  to  slee  /n'w,  240.16. 

Infinitive  with  Resumptive  /o, 

239.  Wherever  an  auxiliary  is  used  with  two  infinitives, 
the  latter  infinitive,  if  it  is  separated  from  the  former  by 
intervening  words,  takes  to.  In  such  cases  to  seems  to  be 
regarded  as  a  resumptive,  to  make  the  construction  plain  : 
that  lordes  and  ladyes  myghte  heholde  and  to  gyue  the  pryse, 
19 1. 8;  ice  7cy/  />ef'/a7C'es  to  gyiie/s  a/td  neiier  to  fayle,  194.2  i ; 
god  wold  that  ye  shold  put  hym  f'(>m  nu\  outher  to  slee  Jiym., 
22 1. 28;  I slial  he  true  to  you  and  neuer  te  (misprint  for  to') 
bitraye  jv^//,  242.21;  / — wille  reseoice  her  or  eh  to  dye, 
237.23;  a  h'ehe  fonde  that  he  myght  hue,  and  to  be  hole 
7(.'ithin  a  moneth,  690.5;  that  ye  may  dra'we  oute  the  sotvles  of 
erthely  payne,  and  to  putte  theni  into  the  loves  of  paradvs, 
716.29;  she  had  leuer  slee  hyr  sef  than  to  be  marred,  840.16.^ 

1  W.    vvyllyng  —  a  wyfe  for  to  wedde,  25. 

-  This  explains  the  Shaksperian  habit  noted  by  Abbott,  §  350. 
"  Make  thy  two  eyes  like  stars  start  from  their  spheres, 

Thy  knotted  and  combined  locks  to  party  Hatnlet,  I,  5. 18. 
"  Who  would  be  so  mocked  with  glory,  or  to  live 
l!ut  in  a  dream  of  friendship,"  Timon,  IV,  2.-i,'})- 
W.    Thys  wryght  would  wedde  no  wyfe, 
Butt  yn  yougeth  to  lede  hys  lyfe,  ig. 
That  no  man  schuld  beseke  her  of  grace. 
Nor  her  to  bei^vlc,  loi. 


74  l  'ERBS  —  S  J  WTAX. 

Infinitive  as  Subject. 

240.  The  infinitive  standing  as  logical  subject  with  im- 
personal verbs  is  a  familiar  construction  from  the  O.  E. 
period  down  :  tJic  bchoiicth  mnu  to  chese  one  of  vs  four,  187.5; 
/lytn  happe7id  ageynst  a  )iygJitc  to  come  fo  a  fayr  coiifte/age, 
200.2. 

(a)  Similar  is  the  appositive  construction  with  //  as  gram- 
matical subject:  //  7ccre  shame  fo?-  i?ie  to  see  thrc  kiiyi^tes  on 
one,  200.15;  t*^  yelde  vs  vnto  Jiyni  it  were  no  rcson,  200.37; 
//  zvyll  he  hard  to  matche  livvi,  204.10. 

241.  But  in  the  Alorte  d' Arthur  an  appositive  infinitive 
may  stand  side  by  side  with  a  noun  clause  in  the  same 
grammatical  construction  :  this  is  my  counceiU —  that  7C'e  lete 
puruey  X  kny^tes  —  &  they  to  kepe  this  szcerd,  40.36  (i.e., 
and  that  they  keep);  /  7cyl/e  that  ye  gyiic  vnto  your  broder 
alle  the  hole  manofr  —  7'nder  thys  forme,  that  sir  Ontzelake 
hold  the  7nanoir  of  yoio,  and  yerely  to  gyue  yoza  a  palfrey, 
134.16   (i.  e.,   and  that  he  give  you  yearly). 

(a)  A  similar  construction  appears  sometimes  in  alterna- 
tive sentences :  //  is  better  that  ice  slee  a  eoicard  than  thoroic 
a  eo7uard  alle  7ue  to  be  slayne,  60. 8. 

242.  Finally  the  appositive  infinitive  with  subject  ex- 
pressed may  stand  alone  as  the  full  equivalent  of  a  noun 
clause:  //  is  gods  wyll  youre  body  to  be  punysshcd,  67.10; 
//  is  the  eustomme  of  my  Countrey  a  knyghte  ahveyes  to  kepe 
his  7i'epen  with  hym,  92.23;  /  ealle  hit  foly  knyghtes  to 
abyde  whan  they  be  ouermatched,  172.12;  dyd  as  nobly  as  zcas 
possyblc  a  man  to  doo,  173.18;  //  7vere  hard  any  tonge  to 
telle,  859.38;  //  setneth  fiot  ('is  not  likely')  yow  to  spede 
there  as  other  hauefailled,  77.34.      Cf.  Abbott,  354. 

243.  It  appears  at  first  sight  as  if  the  nouns  in  these 
infinitive  phrases  were  datives,  and  hence  as  if  this  were 


THE  nXFINITIVE.  75 

a  familiar  modern  construction,  except  for  the  absence  of 
the  preposition  (e.  g.,  '  as  nobly  as  was  possible  for  a  man 
to  do ').  But  the  following  instances  show  that  the  accom- 
panying case  is  nominative :  That  loerc  s/iame  —  thou  an 
armed  knyghte  to  slee  a  naked  7Jiaii,  209.7;  thou  to  loue  (her) 
t/iat  loueth  not  the  is  but  grcte  foly,  237.17;  ////  was  neuer  the 
cnstome  in  no  place  of  worship  that  ciier  I  came  in  whaji  a 
knyghte  and  a  lady  asked  hcrborugh  {and  ^)  they  to  receyue 
hcfu  and  after  to  destroye  them,  310.23. 

244.  That  an  older  dative,*  however,  lies  at  the  root 
of  this  construction  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  the  con- 
struction is  found  almost  invariably  after  impersonal  verbs 
and  verb-phrases.      It  may  be  conjectured,  then  : 

(a)  that  the  origin  of  this  construction  is  the  familiar 
construction  of  impersonal  verbs  with  the  dative,  where  the 
infinitive  stands  as  logical  subject  (§  80,  d). 

(b)  that  the  anomalous  form  it  took  is  due  to  the  con- 
fusion resulting  from  the  decay  of  the  dative. 

(c)  that  its  extension  to  such  sentences  as  those  cited 
under  §§241  and  241,  a,  is  due  to  the  analogy  of  the  infini- 
tive with  resumptive  to^  (§  239). 

Infinitive  as  Object. 

245.  The  objective  infinitive  has,  in  general,  much  the 
same  extent  as  in  modern  English.  Thus  it  appears  after 
verbs  expressing  hope,  fear,  intention,  promise,  and  occa- 
sionally after  other  verbs  of  incomplete  predication  ;  after 
expressions  of  preference  ;    and  after  several  verbs  taking 

^  Instances  like  the  following  may  be  mere  anacolutha,  or  they  may 
indicate  an  extension  of  the  inlinitive  with  resumptive  to:  the  ret-J 
knyghte  with  thre  score  knyghtcs  —  dyde  to  syr  Gareth  homage  and fcaute 
and  alle  tho  knyghtes  to  hold  of  hym  for  euermore,  270.29. 

2  Not  an  accusative,  as  Kellner  (p.  l.x.x)  seems  to  imply. 


76  VEJiBS  —  S  YNTA  X. 

two  objects,  particularly  askc,  praye  and  teche.  Modern 
English  limits  the  construction  to  certain  particular  verbs. 
In  the  Alortc  cV Arthur  there  is  more  freedom  :  /  suppose 
to  passe  the  inouiitayns,    163.13.^ 

(a)  The  infinitive  with  had  leucr  is  objective.  Thus  in 
yet  had  I  leuer  to  dye,  187.12,  the  fundamental  meaning 
seems  to  be  'I  should  hold  (Jiad,  preterit  subjunctive;  see 
§  213,  b)  it  preferable  to  die.'- 

246.  After  verbs  of  hindering  the  thing  hindered  may 
be  expressed  by  the  infinitive :  to  ktte  his  owne  fader  to 
lande,  S41.10;  /  )naye  not  icanie  peple  to  speke  of  Die  what 
it  ph-aseth  hem,  19S.2  (i.  e.,  prevent  people  from  speaking).^ 

247.  The  infinitive  with  an  accompanying  noun  may 
stand  as  the  full  equivalent  of  an  object  clause  (see  §  242): 
Alas  —  that  euer  I  shold  lyue  to  here  that  moost  noble  kyng 
that  maad  me  knyght  thus  to  be  ouersette,  852.14;  Jie  seiite 
you  zvord  that  he  trusteth  —  to  be  of  as  grete  noblesse  as  euer 
were  ye  bothe  and  mo  men  to  speke  of  his  ?ioidesse  tha/i  euer 
they  (fid  yo7a,  590.33  (i.  e.,  that  he  will  be  —  and  —  that 
more  men  will  speak).* 

^  When  he  in  to  j-e  seller  felle, 
He  wente  /o  hane  sonke  (weened  he  had  sunk)  in  to  helle,  451. 

2  Cf.  Fitz-Edward  Hall  in  Amer.  Jour.  Phil.,  U,  2S1. 

3  "If  nothing  lets  to  make  us  happy  both,  Twelfth  Night,  V,  i,  256  ; 
"Metaphors  far-fet  hinder  to  be  understood,"  Ben  Jonson,  Discoveries, 
757  {Abbott,  355). 

«  "Be  then  desir'd  — 

A  little  to  disquantity  your  train, 
A>id  the  remainder  that  shall  still  depend 
To  be  such  men  that  shall  besort  your  age." 

—  Lear,  I,  4,  272. 

"  I  have  deserved 
All  tongues  to  tall-  their  bitterest."  * 

—  W.  T.,  Ill,  2,  217  (Abbott,  354). 


THE  INFINITIVE.  77 

Gerundive  Infinitive. 

248.  Abbott  (356,  p.  257)  gives  the  name  "gerundive" 
to  many  infinitives  standing  in  constructions  where  they 
have  been  supplanted  in  modern  Enghsh  by  the  verbal 
noun :  7i.'haf  daioiger  I  had  to  brynge  (i.  e.,  in  bringing) 
agcyne  Queue  Isoi/d,  372.22;  aferd  to  be  dede,  693.16;  7011  vke 
and  fcldc  to  goo,  S57.2;  vc  are  gretely  to  blame  for  to  dis- 
please ky)ig  Arthur,  80.12;  And  as  for  to  say  for  to  take  my 
plesaunce  tvith  peramours,  that  zuylle  I  refuse,  198.6;  aboute 
to  doo,  136.19.  For  other  instances  see  the  foregoing 
sections,  and  Kellner,  p.  Ixv,  §  28,  (a). 

(a)  The  following  survive  :  moehe  soroiae  (trouble)  had  syre 
gawayii  to  avoyde  his  hors,  204.22;  hcipe  me  to  gete,  208.18. 

Infinitive  of  Result. 

249.  The  infinitive  is  used  to  express  result  after  so 
without  a  correlative  as  (§  385,  4):  iieuer  /lo/ie  be  soo  hardy 
to  doo  a7i.'ey  this  gyrdel,  694.9. 

(a)  The  infinitive  seems  to  express  result  in  the  follow- 
ing :  /  wille  that  ye  telle  hym  that  I  am  a  k)iy^t  of  kynge 
Arthurs,  for  I  7uas  neuer  aferd  to  reneye  ('  deny  ' )  7ny  hvd, 
330.21  (where  the  meaning  evidently  is  'so  afraid  as  to 
deny ') ;  at  alle  tymes  eriy  and  late  I  wille  be  at  your  com- 
maundefuent  to  lyue  as  poure  a  lyf  as  euer  dyd  queue,  371.20; 
God  defende  —  that  I  shold  defoyle  you  to  doo  syre  Persaunt 
suehe  a  shame,  231.25;  for  by  eause  this  Da  mas  is  so  fa  Is  — 
7ve  luold  neuer  fyghte  for  hym  to  Ay&  for  it,  127.16.  But  the 
latter  cases  are  doubtful. 

Infinitive  Absolute. 

250.  The  infinitive  is  used  absolutely  in  phrases  of  con- 
dition ^  similar  to  the  absolute  participial  phrase :   for  hym 

1  The  absolute  infinitive  of  exclamation,  which  is  found  in  Chaucer 
and  persists  in  modern  English  ("  To  t/iin/c  that  we  were  only  a  minute 
late  !  ")  does  not  appear  in  the  Morte  d' Artlnir.  Kellner  cites  one 
instance  from  Cliarlcs  t/ie  Gretc.      See  a,  4,  following. 


78  VERBS  —  S  YNTAX. 

thought  no  zuorship  to  haiie  a  k/iyght  at  sudie  an  aiiaille  he  to 
be  on  horshak  and  he  on  foot,  71-23;  And  yf  that  he  myght  slee 
kynge  Markes  knyghte  he  to  haue  the  triiage  of  CorJicivaile, 
461.26;  ye  see —  that  he  is  a  noble  knyght  for  to  consydre  his 
fyrste  batai/e,  350.21  (i.  c,  considering  that  it  was  his  first 
battle) ;  he  bereth  not  the  /yf —  that  can  fynde  siiche  another 
knyght  to  speke  of  his  protuessc  and  of  his  handes  and  his 
tro  lithe  with  a  tie,  360.34;  the  whiclie  ben  knyghtes  of  the  tnoost 
noble  prowesse  in  the  world  for  to  accompte  soo  many  for  soo 
many,  383.10.^ 

(a)  Kellner  (§  29,  pp.  Ixvi-lxx)  groups  a  large  number  of  instances 
under  the  caption  Iiifi)iitivc  Absolute.  Ihe  term  would  seem  sufficiently 
elastic,  but  it  must  be  objected  that  of  the  instances  cited  from  the 
Alorte  d^Art/uir  and  other  Caxton  prints  most  show  infinitives  that 
are  not  absolute  (i.  e.,  disconnected  from  the  construction  of  the 
rest  of  the  sentence).  In  fact,  Kellner's  instances  are  of  five  distinct 
kinds: 

(i)  Cases  explained  by  the  resumptive  use  of  to  after  auxiliaries 
(§  239):  --Ind  loitli  the  rcmoiaiintc  lie  sliohi  ma/^'e  men  jyehe,  and  to  sette 
them  in  good  poynte,  Charles  the  Crete,  126.3  (P-  Ixviii-  bottom).  The 
ciistotn  ZVC1S  siiehe  amonge  them,  that  none  of  the  I<:ynges  wold  helpe  other, 
but  a  lie  tlie  felaiisliip  of  euery  standard  to  helpe  other,  Morte  d' Arthur, 
533.18  (p.  Ixix).  All  the  instances  in  the  paragraph  next  following 
(p.  Ixix)  are  of  the  same  sort,  except  two  which  belong  under  the  next 
heading. 

(2)  Appositive  Infinitive  (instances  included  above  in  §§  241,  ff.). 

(3)  Objective  Infinitive:  Morte  d' Arthur,  590.33  (cited  above, 
§  247)- 

(4)  Absolute  infinitive  of  exclamation :  yf  I  retorne  loythoute  to 
auenge  jny  baro7is,  I  shall  do  ponrely,  sythe  they  haue  siisteyned  and  borne 
jip  the  crozvne  Itnperial  and  tny  ivylle,  and  I  now  to  retorne  wythoute  to 
auenge  them(!)  He  that  gaf  f/ie  such  couneeyll  loiieth  me  but  lytel, 
Charles  the  Crete,   16.14  (p.  Ixviii). 

1  "  In  al  this  world  ne  was  ther  noon  him  lyk. 
To  spetse  of  phisik  and  of  surgerye." 

-C.  T.,  412   {A). 


THE   PARTICIPLE.  79 

(5)    Absolute    infinitive    of   condition :     (instances    included    above, 

(b)    Thus  it  appears  : 

(i)    that  the  infinitive  absolute  is  not  common,  I>ut  rare. 
(2)    that  it  is  used  either  in  exclamations  (4)  or  to  express  a  condi- 
tion  (5). 


THE    PARTICirLE. 

Modifying  Participial  Phrase. 

251.  The  modifying  participial  phrase  is  fairly  common, 
(aj    with  the  present  participle  :    kynge  Vf/ier  send  for  this 

duk,  charging  hytn  to  bryiigc  his  icvf,  35.6;  I  wille  my  self 
assaye — not  presumynge  Tpon  viy  self,  etc.,  76.31;  a  fayre 
yonge  man  —  rydynge  7'pon  a  lene  mare,  102.3;  smote  hym  in 
the  neek  —  sayeng  be  ye  a  good  knyght,  103.2;  And  thou  as 
rehelle  not  knowynge  hyni  as  thy  sonerayne  loithholdest,  etc., 
160.17;  Thus  the  kyng  —  departed  leuyng  the  quene,  etc., 
164.23;  the?-e  he  fond  a  eareful  wydozve  wryngynge  Ju^r  handes 
and  makyng  grete  sorozoe  syttynge  l>y  a  graue,  16 7. 8;  neuer  a 
knyght  beynge  a  murtherer  hath  zuorship,  429.32. 

(b)  with  the  preterit  participle  (rare) :  this  shell/  zcas 
yeuen  me  not  desyred,   412.4. 

252.  The  reference  of  participles  is  sometimes  loose  and 
ambiguous  :  the  teres  hrast  out  of  his  eyen  thynkynge  on  the 
grete  curtosy  that  was  in  syr  lanneeht,  819.30;  or  else  thoiv 
arte  lyke  to  fyghte  with  somme  Geaunt  thy  self  beyng  horryble 
afid  abhomynable,  165.32. 

1  The  only  one  of  Kellner's  instances  not  noted  above,  is  Morte 
d^ Arthur,  367. 38,  where  he  has  mistaken  the  intensive  adverbial  prefix 
to  for  the  preposition  :  they  rode  vnto  the  kcpers  of  beestes  and  alle 
to  bete  them. 


so  VERBS  —  S  YNTAX. 

Absolute  Participial  Phrase. 

253.  The  absokite  participial  construction,  though  not 
common,  is  fully  developed. 

(a)  with  the  present  participle :  there  eame  in  to  his  halle, 
he  syttynge  /;/  his  throne  Jiyal  xij  aioicyeii  i/ien,  1G0.4;  the 
kynge  beyng  set  at  his  i/yiier,  ther  eai/i  in  tico  inessagers, 
169.4;  /  sette  Tpon  this  erie  —  i/iy  lady  there  beynge  presoit^ 
559.30;  tJie  hnyghf  felle — the  blood  brastynge  ante  of  his 
mouthe,  594-9;  tioo  palfreyes  —  Inire  a  lytter,  thcrin  lyenge  a 
seke  knyghte,  637.31  ;  my  lorit  Arthur  hyin  self  wo] J  not  haue 
displayed  her  eotirtexns  sh^  beyng  icithin  her  bed,  7S3.6. 

(b)  with  the  preterit  participle  :  his  niyght  —  is  most  to  be 
doubted,  seen  the  noble — knyghtes  of  the  roi/nd  table,  175.15; 
Alarhaiis  felle  doiin  —  the  edge  of  Tristrams  swerd  left  ///  his 
bray  fie  pan,  28  3.27. 

(c)  Forms  such  as  'being  seen,'  'being  left,'  etc.,  do  not 
occur,  the  simple  passive  participle  being  evidently  regarded 
as  adequate.^ 

254.  Sometimes  an  absolute  participial  phrase  is  made 
by  mere  repetition  of  the  subject,  where  a  simple  modifying 
phrase  might  be  expected :  ichanne  sir  Tristraju  herd  hytn 
saye  soo  knyghtely,  he  icyste  not  what  to  do  loith  hym,  he 
(Tristram)  remembryng  hym  —  of  7ohat  blood  he  7oas  eo/nen, 
307.16;  he  eommannded  7ne  to  be  re  this  shelde  to  the  Conrte  of 
kynge  Arthur,  he  requyrynge  and  prayenge  somme  good  kny-^t 
to  take  this  shelde,  etc.,  340.2  i ;  she  knowyng  he  7C'as  there  she 
asked  cohere  he  7uas,  137.4. 

255.  Constructions  like  the  following,  though  part  of  the 
author's  habit  of  loose  coordination,  show  also  that  the 
absolute  participial  construction  was  unwieldy:  they  ehalengyd 
sire  launcelot  —  Syr  launeelot  not  refusyng  hem  but  made  hym 

'  bcyiig  set  in  (a)  above  is  not  preterit  in  meaning. 


TENSES.  81 

redy,  383.13;  t/wy  —  tic  and  drank  —  and  their  Jiorscs  walk- 
yng  atid  soninic  tcycil,  430. 2G.  ^ 

256.  The  following  prepositional  phrase  with  a  past 
participle  has  the  force  of  an  absolute  participial  phrase  : 
by  this  done  lie  was  so  fayiit  that  v/uicthi's  he  niyght  stande, 
249.24. 

TENSES.  ■ 

257.  The  so-called  progressive  present  and  preterit  ap- 
pear in  a  few  instances:  ahcuyes  he  wille  be  shotynge  or 
castynge  dartes,  102.23;  ^^'^^  hnyghte  is  goyng  to  the  sege, 
232.4:  an  Hereniyte  theryn  7C'hiehe  was  goynge  7'nto  masse, 
639.29. 

258.  rile  present  of  the  verb  '  to  be  '  appears  rarely  with 
the  force  of  a  future  (Chaucer,  ''  I  nam  but  deed " ) :  ye 
must  courage  yourself  or  els  ye  ben  al  shente,  235.26. 

259.  The  future  periphrasis  with  about  and  tlie  intinitive 
does  not  yet  appear.  Aboute  to  doo,  136.19,  means  'engaged 
in  doing.' 

260.  After  verbs  expressing  purpose  (intention,  prepara- 
tion, etc.)  or  belief  (opinion,  supposition,  etc.),  where  the 
purpose  is  unrealized  or  the  belief  mistaken,  the  pluperfect 
(with  had)  is  commonly  used  instead  of  the  preterit,  and 
the  perfect  infinitive  (with  haue)  instead  of  the  present:  they 
7ve/id —  //  hadde  ben  sir  hay,  203.32  ;  I supoosed  that  he  had 
ben  to  yo/ige,  349.5;  he  yssued  oute  of  the  caste! — for  to  haue 
distressid  the  hynges  hooste,  37.15;  syre  hay  dressid  hyni  for 
to  haue  holpen  syre  Launcelot,  200.24;  7'n/aced  his  helnie  to 
haue  slayne  hym,  239. 28;  she  laboured  by  fa  Is  meanes  to  haue 
destroyed  kynge  Arthur,  361.19;  he  sette  his  hand  therto  to 
haue    opened    hit,    710.30;     loenynge   to   haue    slayne    hym, 


82  VERBS  —  S  \  WTAX. 

209.22;  that  lyon  gaped  icydc  and  cainc  upon  /lym  raumpynge 
to  haue  slayne  hym,  339-3o-^ 

(a)  The  haddc  in  these  cases  is  preterit  subjunctive. 
Parallel  cases  occur  in  which  haddc  is  supplanted  by 
myght  haiic,  or  shold  hauc,  the  haac  adding  nothing  to  the 
sense  but  the  idea  of  unreality :  Thcnnc  Bars  sctte  his  hand 
thcrto  yf  that  lie  myght  haue  soudcd  hit  agiyiic,  hut  it  icudd  not 
he,  i\'j.\c)\  and  at  that  tyine  kynge  Marhe  said — /shold 
haue  hen  better  reiuarded,  373-2  (where  the  meaning  is  '  King 
Mark  promised  that  I  should  be  better  rewarded,  but  I  was 
not ') ;    Thenne  7oende  sir  £>ynodan   that  he  shold  haue  dyed, 

392-33- 

(b)  The  idea  of  what  is  contrary  to  fact  underlying  this 

usage  appears  also  in  the  following:  /  ice/w  and  god  had 
loiied  hem  toe  shold  not  haue  had  p07ver  to  haue  slayne  hem 
thus,  701.15;  he  hiyc  as  he  had  ben  dede,  2 48. 14.'- 

261.  In  complex  sentences  the  relation  of  tenses  be- 
tween principal  and  subordinate  clauses  is  often  loose  in 
sequence. 

(a)  conditional :  ^  /  7uyl  not  tome  ageyne  and  they  were 
sy.xe  mo,  220.15;   '^'^'^  ^''~'  "^^'^''^^  as  good  a  knyghte  as  euer  7uas 

1  Yor  other  instances  see  Kclliter,  p.  Ivii,  §  22  (e)  and  2. 
*  The  modal  force  of  haue  appears  also  in  the  following:  a7!d  wel 
Merlyn  kiu'wc  tlic  one  of  the  /y/i^'es  sJiold  be  dcde  thai  day  &^  loth  was 
Me7-lyn  that  ony  of  tJtcm  both  shold  be  slayne.  But  of  the  t-weyue  he  had 
leucr  kyiig  Lotte  had  be  slayne  (i.  e.,  evidently,  'should  be  slain')  than 
kynge  Arthur,  87.18. 

The  two  following  cases  show  a  wavering,  transitional   use  of  haue : 
had  he  not  haue  be,  180.30  ;  ye  ivold  haue  had  slayne  nte,  209.29. 
^  W.  has  some  remarkable  conditional  sentences: 

My  husbond  ivolle  wete  wyth-owtyn  mare, 
And  I  hym  </!'<'' that  vnryght,  287; 

euyll  spede  the  soppe 
Tf  eny  morcell  come  in  thy  throte 
l^>utt  )>ou  wyth  vs  hadest  wrought,  493. 


TENSES.  83 

/  shalle  neuer  faylc  hyin,  236.23;   ye  shalle  not  soo  —  onles 
that  ye  were  desguysed,  767.28. 

(b)  temporal :  they  trouthplyte  eche  other  to  /one  and  neuer 
to  fay  He  whyles  their  lyfe  lasteth,  247.12. 

(c)  final  :  ge/ityl  kiiy^f  —  help  that  I  myghte  speke  laith 
hym,  363.12;'  lene  i>ie  that  black  stede  that  /myghte  oucr- 
take,  646.34;  made  his  prayers  ■ —  that  he  neuer  falle  ///  dedely 
synnc,  658.29.      Cf.  §  223. 

(d)  causal :  sythen  I  maye  not  rcioyce  the  —  /  had  kepte 
no  i?iore  ioye  in  this  world.,  207.17. 

(e)  concessive :  ye  maye  }iot  efidure  ageyfiste  z's  though  ye 
were  the  best  knyghtes  of  the  laorld,  704.16;  though  it  were 
here  ye  shalle  haue  noo  poiuer  to  see  hit,  657.33. 

262.  Even  where  the  subordinate  verb  is  indicative,  the 
sequence  of  tenses  is  often  loose. 

(a)  preterit  for  perfect  (with  haue) :  this  viij  yere  I  was 
not  so  slepy  as  I  am  no7v,  183.29;  thou  hast  done  —  more  vnto 
me  than  ony  knyghte  dyd  these  xij  yeres,  1S5.21 ;  here  is  good 
mete- — for  ive  had  not  many  a  day  no  good  repast,  196.30; 
/was  never  thorouly  hole  syn  I  joas  hurte,  255.11 ;  abyde you, 
said  sir  Gawayne,  that  knyght  —  beganne  not  yet,  533.2.  So 
in  indirect  discourse :  his  lady  —  said  she  wold  loue  hym 
better  than  eucr  she  dyd,  405.7. 

(b)  preterit  for  pluperfect  (with  had):  there  they  fnette 
with  a  messager  that  cam  fro  kynge  Arthur  that  soughte  them 
7vel  nyhe  a  xij  moneth,  159.1;  zvhan  syr  Launcelot  7oas  eome 
to  almysburye  ■ —  ^uene  guenever  deyed  btit  halfe  an  oure  afore, 
857.2.'^ 

^  I  praye  you  helpe  hat  we  7vcre  owte,  580. 

2  It  is  possible  that  this  is  a  reminiscence  of  the  O.  E.  preterit  with 
<■?/-,  which  was  used  with  the  force  of  a  pluperfect. 

The  sequence  is  reversed  in  the  following:  told  the  knyghte  ho7o  he 
fond  her  as  she  had  slept /czJi",  95---- 


84  VEUBS—SV.VIAX. 

263.  The  loose  sequence  after  verbs  of  relating  (telling, 
saying,  reporting,  etc.)  is  due  to  the  confusion  between 
direct  and  indirect  discourse:  and  7L'/u7n  Arthiirc  shohl 
dcpa}-tc  Jw  7oanicd  al  hys  hoost  that  and  they  see  ony  swcrde 
drawcn  look  ye  come  on  J'yc?-sly,  S45.21  ;  thcinie  the  kyui;  — 
badde  hy))i  he  redy  — for  'icith/n  xl  dayes  he  wold  fetehe  hym 
ante  of  the  iy^t^est  eastel!  that  he  hath,  35.30  ,•  wel  saide  the 
kynge  lete  make  a  erye  that  all  the  hordes  —  shold  draice  vuto 
a  eastel  caUeil  Canuhot  in  the  dayes,  and  tJier  the  kynge  wold, 
etc.,  76.7. 

THE    AUXILIARIES. 
be. 

264,  Be  is  used  regularly  as  a  tense-auxiliary,  (a)  with 
many  intransitive  verbs  of  motion  (eome,  goo,  passe,  aryue, 
entre,  aryse,  etc.  ),^  and  (b)  with  verbs  of  happening  {become, 
fa/Ie,  l>efa//e).'^     But  hane  occurs  also  with  the  same  verbs. 

(a)  /am  eonie,  213.35;  ^^'^"'  '■^^^^  eonie,  214.10;  he  is  come, 
215.5;  syre  Lau>ieeh)t  was  eonie,  217.27;  the  enehanntement 
W3.S  past,  186.25;  ^^'''  kynge  was  alyghie  of  his  hors,  190.16; 
this  shyp  was  aryued,  693.15;  loe  ben  entred,  700.35;  they 
7c>ithin  were  aryscn,  712.3. 

On  the  other  hand:  /had  —  eomen,  691.19;  hie  had  come, 
214.24. 

(b)  7ohe?-e  is  thy  eourage  become,  239.19;  //  is  fallen  on  you, 
209.29;  tlie  tempest  was  seaced,  706.32;  ivhat  was  fallen  of 
theni,  707.10;   then /I  e  was  so  befalle,  713.29. 

On  the  other  hand:    had  befallen,  7  15. 11. 

1  \V.    Whether  (whither)  that  he  is  wende,  255; 
And  vp  t'e  steyre  I'c  they  gane,  446; 

workemen  thre 
Be  come,  53S. 
■^  Be  is  used  once  with  a  verb  (if  deciding,  to  indicate  the  resultant 
state  of  mind  :    /  m\\  delyhered  and  fully  ccuicliidcd,  162.17. 


THE   AUXILIARIES.  85 


can. 


265.  In  almost  all  cases  ca7i  is  simply  an  auxiliary  with 
the  sense  of  ability  or  possibility ;  but 

(a)  its  earlier  force  (knowledge,  skill)  appears  in  sporadic 
cases  :  allc  the  Barbours  of  Bretayne  s/ial  not  conne  staniiche 
thy  blood,  176.34;  he  —  taiighte  hit  an  harper —  and  ivhajuie 
he  (the  harper)  coude  hit  he  taiighte  it  to  many  harpers, 
45 7-35 •  So  in  the  phrase  eonne  thanke,  used  to  translate 
O.  F.  s^-avoir  gre  :  they  luill  neiicr  conne  yow  thank,  S 20.2 2; 
/can  the  no  thanke,  323.35. 

(b)  in  other  cases  a  distinction  is  discernible  between 
can,  used  of  the  ability  that  comes  from  knowledge  or  skill, 
and  maye,  used  of  the  ability  that  comes  from  opportunity 
(see  maye,  §§275  (a),  278):  whanne  lie  r^v/ couthe  speke  the 
langage,  276.26. 

Thus  the  following  sentence  cited  by  Kellner  (p.  liv,  c)  is 
not  tautological,  but  merely  emphatic :  the  gretest  honoiire 
that  men  can  or  may  doo  to  a  knyght,  Blanchardyn,  66.10. 

(c)  because  the  use  of  can  is  more  restricted,  and  the  use 
of  maye  less  restricted,  than  at  present,  can  does  not  appear 
so  often  as  in  modern  English. 

do. 

266.  Do  is  used  with  a  following  infinitive  as  a  causative, 
like  F.  faire,  G.  lassen  :  tnerlyn  dyd  his  maister  Bleyse  do 
wryte,  62.9.^ 

267.  Do  is  used  to  resume  a  preceding  verb,  in  order 
to   avoid  repetition:     I  fniist  take  parte  as  they  do,   203.1; 

1  I.  e.,  '  Merlyn  caused  his  master  Kleyse  to  have  written.'  But  the 
causative  construction  with  etc  is  often  irregular  and  redundant  (see  §  272) 
in  the  Morte  cf  Arthur.  Kellner  (p.  liv)  cites  better  instances  from 
Blanchardyn.  At  p.  Ixiv,  however,  he  cites  from  Aymon  two  instances 
of  do  followed,  as  sometimes  in  Chaucer,  by  a  passive  ptc. 


86  VERBS  —  S  YNTAX. 

she  loiieth  you  as  tvcl  as  ye  doo  /icr,  246.27;  she  s/ia//e 
the  the  jnoost  vylanous  dethe  that  cner  dyd  07iy  woman, 
694.13.^ 

268.  Do  is  used  with  the  infinitive  to  make  compound 
forms  for  the  present  and  preterit :  /  trust  I  do  7iot  dysplese 
god,  857.32;  he  dyd  commaunde  hys  tronipcttes  to  bhnuc, 
173.9;  she  dyd  staunche  sir garcths  icoundes,  267.28;  alle  the 
troiithe  syr  Gahalantyiie  dyd  telle,  212.23;  ^'^'  ^yd  byd  syr 
Gaherys  stande  a  syde,  376.13;  soo  they  dyd  fare,  385.8;^ 
worshipfuUy  he  dyd  gouerne  hit,  334.10;  as  soone  as  my  lord 
kyugc  Jllark  doo  knowe  you,  371.13;  he  wounded  hem  sore 
alle  that  dyd  abyde,  384.25. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  periphrasis  adds  no  em- 
phasis. Though  it  is  not  common,  it  is  evidently  well 
established. 

gar. 

269.  Gar  (O.  N.  go>-d)  is  used  (rarely,  and  only  in  the 
preterit  gartey  as  a  causative  auxiliary,  like  do.  The  form 
is  common  in  Northern  poetry:  garte  hym  go,  1 11.28;  he 
garte  vnarnie  them  (3^  bete  hem,  1S4.23. 

have. 

270.  For  the  use  of  haue  as  a  tense-auxiliary,  the  con- 
fusion of  subjunctive  and  indicative  in  the  preterit,  and 
the  modal  force  apparent  at  times,  see  §  260,  (a),  (b), 
and  note. 

'  1  W.    Dame,  and  ye  hadde  haw  wyth  vs, 

Ye  would  haue  wrought,  by  swete  Ihesus, 
As  welle  as  ctyd  we,  607 
2  w.    The  thyrde  did  rele  and  spynne,  529; 

Hys  garlond  —  that  neuer  dyd  fade,  663. 
3  Gar  is  printed  as  a  prefix  in  gar-make :  T  ivylle  fouitde  iS^  gar-make 
an  hows  of  relygyon,  825.25. 


THE   AUXILIARIES.  87 

let. 

271.  Lete  is  the  common  causative  auxiliary  (cf.  G. 
lassenj :  the  kynge  lete  rcre  and  deuysc  —  a  /aire  abheye  — 
and  lete  //  calle  the  Abbey  of  la  beak  adnentierc,  123.10;  he 
lete  fetche  leches  and  scrche  his  woundes,  135.19.^  These 
causative  auxiliaries,  do,  gar,  let,  etc.,  are  followed  regularly 
by  the  active  infinitive. - 

272.  Lete  is  often  used  with  other  causatives  in  various 
redundant  expressions :  he  lete  the  surgyens  doo  serehe  their 
Jiurtes,  174.14. 

make. 

273.  Make  is  also  used  as  a  causative  auxiliary :  /  shal 
make  stryke  of  thy  heed,  840.5;  syr  Mordird  maad  wtyte 
wry  ties,  840.20;  syr  Kay  made  cary  sir  Vwayne  to  the  abbay, 
402.14;  he  made  to  sarche  hyiti  and  to  stoppe  his  bledynge 
7uonndes,  351.1.  The  passive  infinitive  occurs  in  a  few 
cases:    there  he  made  her  to  be  kept,  369.6. 

may  and  might. 

274.  Both  maye  and  niyghte  are  used  to  express  ability 
and  possibility,  in  a  very  wide  range  of  meanings. 

(a)  Simple  possibility,  with  no  idea  of  contingency,  like 
can  : 

(i)  may:  there  may  no  thynge plese  vs,  840.35;  /  may  not 
stonde,  inyn  hede  werches  soo,  848.1;  thou  mayst  not  ehese, 
187.9;  ^  may  neiier  be  qiiyte  of  hyni,  226.30;  a  knyght-  may 
lytel  do  that  may  not  snffre  a  damoisel,  229.29;    mysdedes  that 

^  W.    The  chambyr  he  Ictt  make  fast,  85  ; 

After  the  wryght  the  lord  lett  sende,  106; 
And  Ictt  preue  yt  be  (by)  syglit,  4S0. 
"  In  certain  rare  cases  the  passive  is  found :   slu  lete  loysoit  be  put  /;/ 
a pyece  of  sylucr,  275.9.     See  §  273,  and  Kelliier,  p.  Ixiii,  b. 


88  VERBS  —  3-  \  'XT A  X. 

ben  done  maye  not  hen  vndonc,  240.19;    //  maye  not  be  fa  Is 
that  able  men  saye,  332.20.^ 

(2)  myghte :  as  faste  Jteynge  as  eiter  they  myghte  ryde, 
184.3;  al  they  re  strength  that  they  vayiy.  dryiie,  191.35;  tliere 
myght  neyder  shebdes  nor  Iiarneis  hold  theyr  strokes,  194.8;  as 
web  as  they  myght,  203.26;  the  71100 st  royablest  7vyse  that 
myghte  be,  215.29;  I  had  as  nioehe  to  doo  as  /myght,  218. 11; 
syre  Gareth  myghte  7iot  ete,  246.10;  he  bbedde  so  fast  that  he 
myghte  ?iot  stande,   248.12. 

(b)    Possibility,  with  some  idea  of  contingency : 

(i)  maye :  Hope  ye  soo  that  I  maye  —  stand  a  proiied 
knyght,  218.13;  ^*^'^  shabbe  greiie  hem  that  ('what')  we  vt\2iy, 
19 1.2;  and  ye  may  matcJie  the  rede  knyght  ye  sJiabb  be,  etc., 
233.1;  //  may  webb  be,  234.37;  7oeb  maye  bie  he  a  kynges 
sofie,  244.28;  tebbe  rs  where  we  \w:vj  fynde,  251.23:  we  must 
piirueye  vs  of  goode  h/iyghtes  cohere  we  may  get  them,  255.35. 

(2)  myghte :  Bors  sette  his  hand  therto,  yf  that  he  myght 
haue  souded  hit  ageyne,  717.19;  /  my;t  biaue  biad  mete  ynon-^, 
229.36.'- 

275.  l)Oth  7nay{e)  and  myght(e)  are  used  to  denote  per- 
mission or  opportunity. 

(a)  may(e) :  ye  may  say  what  ye  wybbe,  221.9;  ye  may  not 
be  lodged  /lere,  265.37;  /  maye  not  warnc  (prevent)  peph'  to 
spebie  of  me  wbiat  it  pbeaseth  hem,  198.2;  ye  may  loo/shipfnbby 
—  graunte  hetn,  213.37;  ^^'  ^^''^^^  ^  ve\.'^')'  biave  hcrberoice,  264.2. 

(b)  myght(e):  tbieivie — ye  my^t  biaue  bbafned  me,  253.4; 
tbiat  (boon)  was  that  he  myghte  haue  thadvejiture  of  the 
damoyseb,  253.10;  praid  the  badyes  that  bie  myjt  ?rpose  hym, 
265.36. 

1  W.  Loue  me,  I  pray  you,  in  hat  ye  mayi;  155  ;  Swyngyll  better  yf 
ye  may,  395. 

2  \V.  The  proctoure  stode  in  a  stody 

Whether  he  mygtit  wori<e  hem  by,  497. 


THE   AUXILIARIES.  89 

276.  As  an  extension  of  the  preceding  usage,  both 
f?iay(c)  and  myght{e)  are  used  to  denote  a  future  contin- 
gency :  doo  you  scruyse  as  maye  lyc  in  on  re  pinvo-s,  251.3; 
ever  haue  ye  ivayte  upon  hym  tyl  ye  may  fynde  hym  slepynge, 
242.37  (cf.  §  219);  {and yc  myghte  lync)  as  longe  as  the  7uorld 
myght  endure^  701.28. 

277.  Finally,  may(e)  and  myght{e)  appear  as  modal  aux- 
iliaries — 

(a)  in  final  clauses:  A^oia  make  the  redy  that  I  maye 
Juste  with  the,  260.14;  Go  thenne  for  her — that  we  may  ^^ 
apoynted,  268.3 1 ;  ^/''''''^'  '^vere  scaffold  is  —  that  lordes  —  myghte 
behoide,  19 1.8.  For  the  subjunctive  in  final  clauses,  see 
§  222. 

(b)  in  clauses  of  indirect  question  :  ^^yst  not  who  myghte 
be  her  kynge,  722.20;  he  nierueiled  what  he  my;t  be,  259.38. 
For  the  subjunctive  in  parallel  cases,  see  §  228. 

278.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  mod.  E.  has  jnay  and 
might  in  clauses  of  purpose,  can  and  could  in  clauses  of 
result.  In  the  fifteenth  century  this  limitation  had  not  yet 
been  established.  May{e)  and  myght{e),  in  the  sense  of 
mod.  E.  can  and  could,  occur  in  both  kinds  of  clauses.  For 
the  real  distinction  between  may  and  can,  see  can,  §  265  (b). 

must. 

279.  Must{e)  ^  has  passed  over  completely  to  the  modern 
sense  of  necessity  or  obligation.  The  same  invariable  form 
serves  for  present,  past  and  future  time. 

(a)  present:   thou  muste  dye,  2oc).(>. 

(b)  past :  they  held  the  lourneyc  —  tyl  it  taas  tiy^t.  Thenne 
must  they  nedes  departe,  704.35 ;  he  cam  to  chaace  7ne  &>  other 
J  must  stee  hym  or  he  7ne,  83.26. 

^  For  the  survival  of  the  form  mote,  see  paradigm,  ^  204. 


90  VERBS  —  J-  YNTAX. 

(c)  future  :  than  coine  in  —  kynge  Ban  —  Ha  a  said  kyng 
Lot  we  must  be  disco?nfyte,  57.35;  this  knyght  —  had  hanged 
it  (the  horn)  7/  thcr  that  yf  ther  cajne  ony  arraunte  knyghte 
he  muste  ^  b/oicu-,  236.16. 


ought. 

Onght(e)  shows  various  transitional  stages,  alike  in  use 
and  in  meaning. 

280.  The  present  07ve: 

(a)  survives  in  its  original  sense  of  ownership :  a  lord 
that  oweth  yonder  cyte,   228.19. 

(b)  is  used  also  in  the  derivative  sense  of  obligation  or 
duty:  the  feythe  we  owe  7'nto  god,  233.8;  yf  ye  owe  hyfn  good 
with',  244.8;  /  owe  hyin  my  seruyse,  245.14;  and,  with  an 
infinitive  object,  /owe  of  ryght  to  7Vorship  you,  267.22;  by  no 
manere  owe  I  to  say  yUc  of  hym,  798.20. 

281.  The  preterit  oughtif)  is  used,  both  personally  and 
impersonally : 

(a)  in  the  original  sense  of  ownership ;  the  knyghte  to 
whome  the  pane  Hone  ought,  188.33;  a  duke  oughte  //,  199.31; 
Gawayne —  ranne  to  hym  that  ought  the  lady,  336.32. 

(b)  in  the  sense  of  propriety,  or  fitness  :  yf  he  here  7ne  as 
truly  as  7ne  oughte  to  be  born,  694.6;  here  is  a  gyrdle  that 
oughte  to  be  sette  aboute  the  suerd,  699.30;  wel  oughte  oure 
lord  be  sygnefyed  to  an  herte,  703.19:  buryed  her  as  rychely  as 
a  kynges  daughter  oughte  to  be,  ^22.4.. 

(c)  in  the  sense  of  duty  or  obligation  :  /  sa7eie  neucr  man 
that  I  oughte  so  good  wille  to,  292.3;  //  oughte  7wt  to  be 
done  away,  694.9;  this  knyght  ou^te  to  passe,  697.28;  thou 
oughtest  not  to  doo  hit,  71  i.i  i ;   that  me  oujt  to  do,  840.1. 

1  The  meaning  of  the  older  "  moste  "  (i.  e.,  '  might ')  is  possible  here. 


THE   AUXILIARIES.  91 

shall. 

282.  Primary  Meaning:  shold  of  Necessity,  Obli- 

gation, Duty  (all  persons). 

1.  to  who7ne  /shold  be  Jiwost  debonair  shall  I  be  most  felon, 
694.18;    ;;/<'   thynkcth   I  shold   haue  scnc  /lytn   here  to  fore, 

2.  je  dyd  no  t/iyng  but  as  ye  shold  doo,  230.7;  though  I 
prayse  the  lady  that  I  lone  nioost  ye  shold  >iot  be  wrothe, 
358.22. 

3.  dyd  fill  nobly  as  a  noble  kyng  shold,  846.10.-^ 

(a)  The  primary  meaning  of  necessity  appears  in  the  use 
of  shall  of  what  is  ordained  or  appointed,  as  in  the  prophe- 
cies of  Merlyn  :  Sire  scid  the  damoysell  ye  nede  not  to  pulle 
half  so  hard ;  for  he  that  shalle  pulle  it  out  shal  do  it  ivith 
lytel  myghte,  76.36;  and  that  fysshe  is  ealled  Ertanax,  and  his 
bones  be  of  sucJie  a  nianer  of  kynde  that  who  that  handeleth 
hem  shalle  haue  soo  moche  7oille  that  he  shalle  neucr  be  wery 
and  he  shalle  not  thynke  on  loye  nor  sorow  that  he  hath  had, 
692.26. 

(b)  shold  appears  in  corresponding  passages  of  indirect 
discourse :  Merlyn  told  kynge  Arthur  that  he  that  shold 
dcstroye  hym  shold  be  borne  in  may  day,  75.12;  now  are  the 
wonders  true  that  were  sayd  of  Launeelot  du  lake,  that  the 
swerd  whiche  stak  in  the  stone  shold  gyue  me  —  a  buffet,  689.33. 

283.  SHALL  OF  Injunction  or  Threat  (second  and 

third  persons). 

2.    thou  shalt  dye,  337.22. 

(a)  Shall  in  this  use  has  commonly  the  force  of  an 
imperative:  ye  shal  ryde  on  afore,  197.8;  here  shalt  thou 
swere,   21 1.4;   ye  shall  leue  a  lie  your  fnalyee,  332.15;    Thou 

^  W.  I  wyst  my  lord  neuer  do  ryght  noght 
Of  no  hing  hat  schuld  be  wrought,  598.* 


92  VERBS— SYNTAX. 

shalt  wetc  that  he  is  fa  Is,  335.7  ;  hcfe  shalle  ye  abyde  me  these 
ten  (iayes,  353.27 ;  ye  shall  not  doo  so,  355.17;  ye  shalle  goo  in 
to  oure  Jordes  tettiple,  697.30;   ye  thre  shalle  departe,  706.19. 

3.  she  shalle  be  my  lady,  237.8;  thy  skyn  shalle  be  as  wel 
hewen  as  thy  cote,  341.12;  there  shalle  not  passe  but  one  of  you 
at  ones,  349.19. 

(b)    SHOLD  IN  Indirect  Discourse. 

gaf  me  charge  —  that  /  shold  ncuer  discouer  hym,  241.27; 
sir  JVabon  had  made  a  crye  that  alle  the  peple  of  that  yk  shold 
be  at  his  castel  the  fyfthe  day  after,  332.24;  sire  Neroiiens  told 
sir  Launcclot  that  he  (Launcelot)  shold  7iot  goo  by  the  castel 
of  PeJidragon,  346.35. 

284.  SHALL  OF  Simple  Futurity  (all  persons). 

1.  /  shalle  piittc  an  cnchauntetncnt  vpon  hym,  186.14;  ^'■"'^ 
shalle  hauc  ynongh  to  doo  cyther  of  vs  to  socoure  other,  331.5; 
7uhere  shalle  Ifynde  hym,  365.21. 

2.  by  his  deth  ye  shal  Jiaiic  none  auantagc,  240.18;  I  drede 
me  sore  lest  ye  shalle  kcichc  some  hnrtc,  229.12. 

3.  the  more  shalle  be  my  luorship,  228.14;  That  shal  tiot 
nede,  337.27.1 

(a)    shold  in  Indirect  Discourse. 

a  damoysel  - — told  hym  that  he  shold  wynnc  grctc  icorship, 
378.2. 

285.  shold  of  Simple  Futurity  (third  person). 

alle  the  countrey  afore  them  there  ('  where ')  they  shold 
('were  about  to')  ryde,  52.34;  whan  he  shold  hauc  ben  ('was 
about  to  be')  slay?ie,  212.6. 

1  W.  And  that  schaU  do  the  good,  1 59. 


THE   AUXILIARIES.  93 

This  use  of  shold  is  developed  directly  from  the  primary 
meaning  of  necessity.  The  latent  idea  of  appointment  is 
often  apparent. 

286.  SHALL  OF  Futurity  with  the  Idea  of  Promise 

(all  persons). 

1.  /shall  not  failc  you,  188.23;  ^^'^^'  shal  ben  rcdy  at  all 
tymes,  225.28;  whaniie  I  niaye  I  shalle  hyhe  mc  after  you, 
353.32;  I  promyse  you  —  /  shalle  brynge  hym  —  or  els  I 
shalle  dye,  397.21. 

2.  yc  ?>Ci2i\[^  haue  your  askyiig,  214.4. 

3.  al  shal  be  delyuerd,  194.33;  lete  7's  be  sivorne  to  gyders 
that  neuer  none  of  z's  shalle  after  this  day  hauc  adoo  with 
other,  355.24.1 

(a)    shold  in  Indirect  Discourse. 

syre  Tristram  and  sire  Lamorak  sware  that  neuer  none 
of  hem  sholdo.  fyghte  ageynst  other,  355.25;  ye  sware  that  ye 
shold  not  haue  a  do  with  your  felauship,  401. 28;  she  made 
hym  to  sivere  that  he  shold  neuer  do  none  enchaujitement, 
119. 13. 

287.  SHALL  OF  Futurity  with  the  Idea  of  Resolve 

(first  person). 

that  knyght  is  my  felawe  <5>'  hym  shalle  I  reseowe,  347.3; 
/;///  \f  thou  loilt  promyse  me  to  abyde  tcith  me  here  I  shalle 
slee  thee,  374.10;  /  shal  assaye  to  handle  hit,  692.33. 

shold  as  a  Modal  Auxiliary. 

288.  in  the  Apodosis  of  Unreal  Conditions. 

I.  wherin  7i>e  shold  haue  entry d  ne  had  your  tydyfiges  ben, 
699.36;   and  god  had  loued  hem  7ue  shold  not  haue  had  power, 

1  W.  Forty  marke  schall  be  your  mede,  157;  Syr,  that  deede  schall 
be  done,  160. 


94  VERBS  —  S  YNTAX. 

701.15;  had  yr  be>i  frcsshe  —  as  1 7vas  /  7vote  wel  I  shold  not 
haiie  endured  so  longc,  350.29. 

2.  and  I  had  ivyst  that,  tJiou  sholdest  7iot  haiic  departed^ 
408.3;  and  ye  7vere  gentyl  —  ye  shold  not  prof e?-  me  shame, 
442.14. 

3.  and  kyjige  Arthur  were  here  hym  set/,  it  shold  not  lye 
m  his  p07vcr  to  sane  his  lyf,  335.15;  and  he  had  ben  in  the 
realtne  —  soninie  of  his  fclawes  ■ —  shold  haue  fond  hym, 
411.19^;  and  with  protasis  implied:  that  shold  moche  ?-e- 
' pentc  me,  806.35. 

(a)  The  derivation  of  this  use  from  the  original  use  of 
shold  appears  in  the  following :  syre  Tristram  shold  haue 
had  the  werse  had  not  the  kynge  loith  the  honderd  knyghtes  be, 
387.3,  where  sho/d  might  be  replaced  by  must  without  much 
change  of  sense.  Cf .  also  :  for  that  eause  I  wil  spare  you  —  els 
ye  shold  lustc  taith  mc,  336.30  (i.  e.,  would  be  obliged  to  joust). 

289.    IN  Clauses  of  Apposition  after  Certain  Ex- 
clamations. 

The  construction  occurs  most  commonly  after  //  is  pyte,  it 
is  shame,  less  frequently  after  _/^i'  and  alas:  pyte  and  shame 
it  is  that  ony  of  you  shold  take  the  hyJie  ordre  of  knyghthode, 
357.15;  pyte  it  were  that  eyther  of  these  good  knyghtes  shold 
destroye  others  blood,  420.20;  Hit  is  pyte  —  that  euer  ony 
suche  fals  ktiyght  eoivard  as  kynge  Afarke  is  shold  be  matched 
7i.iith  suche  a  fay  re  lady,  425.29;  Fy  for  shame  that  euer  suche 
fals  treason  shold  be  wrought,  378.27;  alas  —  that  euer  a 
knyghte  shold  dye  wepenles,  209.15.  For  the  subjunctive  in 
explanatory  clauses  of  apposition,  see  §  231. 

(a)  The  idea  of  necessity  is  latent  in  this  construction 
also.     An  extension  of  the  usage  appears  in  sentences  like 

^  W.  Hadest  J'ou  done  that  dede  with  me  — 
That  schiild  torne  me  to  woo,  436. 
For  the  subjunctive  in  parallel  cases,  see  §  213. 


THE   AUXILIARIES.  95 

the  following  :    Thcniie  was  sir  Bryan  ful  gladde  —  and  alle 
his  hiyghtcs  that  siichc  a  man  shold  wytine  them,  348.9. 

290.  IN   Final  Clauses. 

I  come  to  you  that  yc  shold  make  me  knyght,  339.5;  for  his 
sake  and  (for)  pyte{,)  that  he  sholde  /lot  be  destroyed,  I foloived 
hym,  349.1;  there  fohnued  hym  tivelue  knyghtes  for  to  haite 
mcschyeued  hym  for  this  cause  that  vpon  the  morne — he  shold 
7iot  Wynne  the  lyctory,  384.15;  syre  Tristram  alyghte  of  his 
hers  —  that  they  shold  not  slee  his  hors,  414.1^;  Thenne  she 
refused  hym  in  a  maner  — for  the  cause  he  shold  be  the  more 
ardant,  653.30  (see  §  364.3). 

(a)  Apparently,  where  shold  is  used  in  this  sense,  the 
subject  of  the  final  clause  is  always  different  from  the  sub- 
ject of  the  principal   clause. 

(b)  Shold  appears  (rarely)  also  in  clauses  after  verbs  of 
fearing :  syre  Fa/omydes  7oas  adrad  lest  he  shold  haue  ben 
drouncd,  396.4;  he  feryd  sore  that  syre  Tristram  shold  gete 
hym  worship,  400.32.      But  cf.  §  284,  2. 

291.  IN  Object  Clauses. 

(a)  Shold  in  many  object  clauses  is  due  simply  to  indirect 
discourse  or  to  tense  sequence. 


Indirect  Discourse  : 

he  badde  me  I  shold  not 
haue  ado  witli  hym,  41 7.1. 

Principal  Verb  Preterit : 

I  wiste  wel  by  the  maner  of 
their  rydyng  bothe  that  sire 
Falomydes  shold  Iiaue  a  falle, 
384.11.      Cf.  i$  284,  a. 


Direct  Discourse : 

{^ye  shalle  Jiot  haue  ado 
tvith  me.)     See  §  2 S3. 

Principal  A'erb  Present : 

{I  wote  7oe/ —  sire  Falomy- 
des shall  haue  a  falle.)  See 
§284. 


1  W.  For  hys  wyfe  he  made  that  place, 

That  no  man  schuld  beseke  her  of  grace,  100. 


96  VERBS  —  SYJVTAX. 

(b)  Shold  appears  in  "  complementary  final  clauses  "  after 
the  preterit  tense  of  a  verb  of  wishing,  fearing,  asking,  com- 
manding, etc.,  where  a  present  tense  would  be  followed  by 
the  subjunctive  (§  232):  god  wold  that  ye  shold  put  /lyni 
from  me,  221.29;  i^^^dde  hym  that  he  shold  goo,  179.24; 
commaunded  that  noo  tiiaii  —  shold  not  rohhe,  182.32;  com- 
mau7ided  that  dame  Ehiyiie  shold  sh'pe  in  a  chamber  nyghe  her 
chamber,  581.26.^ 

(c)  Shalt  appears  very  rarely  in  parallel  cases  after  a 
present  tense,  where  the  subjunctive  is  the  regular  construc- 
tion (§  232):  zcdiat  will  ye  that  /shalle  doo,  633.16. 

will. 

292.    WILL  OF  Resolve,  Determination. 

1.  Ifi  that  pauelione  wil  I  hdge,  188.27;  /  wylle  ske  her 
maugre  thy  hcde,  210.10;  from  hens  wyl  /  neiier  goo,  850.25; 
/wille  he  7-cuengyd,  337.8. 

(a)  The  first  person  plural  sometimes  has  the  force  of  a 
mild  imperative :  Fayr  broder  said  sir  Tristram  —  kte  71s 
cast  vpon  vs  clokes  and  kte  vs  goo  see  the  play.  N'ot  soo  said 
sir  Persydes,  we  wille  not  goo  lyke  knaues  thyder,  but  we  wille 
ryde  lyke  men,  382.2;  Now  felaives  said  syr  Tristram  here 
wylle  we  departe  in  sondry  tuayes,  406.35. 

2.  is  this  your  ansuer,  that  ye  wylle  re/fuse  ts,  187.18. 

3.  /am  sure  ye  sJialle  be  discoueryd  by  this  lytel  brachet,for 
she  wille  ncuer  /cue  you,  371.12.^ 

•  1  W.  So  feyre  the  vvyfe  the  lord  gan  praye 
That  he  scliuld  be  working  aye,  247. 
"  A  sort  of  personification,  assigning  determination  to  things  inani- 
mate, may  underlie  tlie  use  of  zvyllc  in  the  following:  A  sayd  the  kynge, 
syn  ye  knowe  of  your  aduciiture  piirucy  for  hit  and  put  awcy  by  your 
craftes  that  mysauenture.  Nay  said  Merlyn  it  wylle  not  be,  1 19.6.  The 
meaning,  however,  seems  to  be  'it  cannot  be,'  or  'it  is  not  to  be,'  which 
brings  this  use  of  loilt  into  close  correspondence  with  shall,  §  282,  a.  See 
also  §  293,  a,  for  the  parallel  use  of  wold. 


THE  AUXILIARIES.  97 

(a)    WOLD  IN  Indirect  Discourse, 
al  the  couHtrey  sayde  they  wold  liohte  of  sire  jyistram. 

293.  WOLD    OF    Resolve,     Determination     (third 

person). 

a  knyghte  —  cryed  vndo  the  doi\\  but  they  wold  not,  713.37; 
sire  launcelot  wold  not  suffer  that,  351.21;  lie  putte  sir  Bryan 
de  les  yles  from  his  /andes  for  cause  he  wold  neuer  be  zvithhold 
with  kynge  Arthur,  352.26;  lie  reffused  hem  a  I  he  wold  doo 
none  other,  215.11;  there  ivas  a  knyghte  wold  not  lete  hem 
passe,  359.27. 

(a)  Some  personification,  assigning  determination  to 
things  inanimate,  may  underlie  the  phrase  //  tvold  not  be, 
which  seems,  however,  to  mean  'it  was  not  to  be,'  or  'it 
could  not  be  '  (cf.  foot-note  to  §  292,  3):  of  a  dede  ma?i  hoiv 
f?ien  wold  haue  hewen,  and  it  wolde  not  be  (Caxton's  Rubric), 
27.26;  he puUed  at  the  swerd  with  alle  his  niyghte,  but  it  wold 
not  be,  42.10;  //('  hd-:ed  for  the  sea u bard,  but  it  wold  not  be 
founde,  13S.7;  Bors  sette  his  hand  therto  yf  that  he  myght 
haue  souded  hit  ageync,  but  it  wold  not  be,  717.19. 

294.  will  of  Wish. 

1.  /wylle  as  ye  7vyne,  725.1;  /  wyl  tJiat  thou  7vete,  195.2 
('  I  wish  you  to  understand  '). 

2.  goo  where  someuer  thou  wilt,  341.1;  what  wylle  ye  with 
hit,  357.21 ;  wylle  ye  ony  more  seruyse  of  me,  197.28;  ye  may 
chese  whether  ye  wyll  dye  or  lyue,  200.38. 

(a)    WOLD  in  Indirect  Discourse. 
told  her  how  thcr  7i.ias  a  knyght  wold  haue  herberowe,  263.33. 

295.  wold  OF  Wish. 

I.    by  my  wille  I  wold  haue  dryuen  hym  aweye,  349.7. 


98  VERBS  —SYNTA  X. 

3.  he  hadde  the  lordcs  come  after  7vho  that  wold,  267.38; 
There  luas  neyther  syre  Tristram  neyther  syre  Dynas  nor  syre 
Fergus  that  wold  sir  Sadok  ony  euylle  wylle,  469.34.-' 

Participle,  many  tymcs  he  inyghte  haue  had  her  and  he  had 
wold,  232.17. 

(a)  Wold  (preterit  subjunctive)  is  used  (often  \\\\k\.fayne) 
in  the  sense  of  F.  voudrais  bien,  G.  mochte  gern. 

1.  /wold  he  i-eeeyued  it,  199.30  ('  I  should  like  to  have  him 
receive  it ') ;  /wold  he  hadde  his  dwe?-f,  for  I  wold  he  were  not 
7C>roth,  245.10;  /  wold  fayne  ye  same  her,  241.31;  /  wold  / 
had  not  mette  with  you.  374.14. 

2.  what  knyght  was  that  —  that  ye  wold  fayne  tnete  with, 
356.34;   syn  ye  vjold  so  fayne  entre,  714.7. 

3.  for  the  renotne  and  bounte  that  they  here  of  yoii  they  wold 
haue  your  h)ue,  187.30;  syr  Gareth — -wold  f id  fayne — haue 
had  a  hnigyng,  263.18.^ 

(b)  Wold  is  used  in  expressions  of  fervent  wish  :  Ihesu 
wold  that  the  lady  of  the  eastel  perillous  were  so  fayre, 
246.5. 

296.    WILL  OF  Willingness. 

1.  Vpon  a  couenant — /  wille  te/te  you  my  name,  336.7; 
lend  me  hors  and  sure  armour  and  I  wille  haue  adoo  tvith  the, 
333.18;   /wil  wel,  239.10  (' je  veux  bien'). 

2.  thanked  be  thou  lord  that  thou  wilt  I'ouchesaufe  to  calle 
Ts  thy  synners,  720.25;  and  ye  wille  telle  me  your  quarel,  etc., 
335.31  (so  often  in  protasis). 

3.  matiy  speke  behynde  a  man  more  than  they  wylle  saye  to 
his  face,  335.17  ;  Is  there  ony  of  you  here  that  wille  take  vpon 

1  W.    Gold  and  syluer  they  me  brought, 

And  forsoke  yt,  and  wojtld  yt  noght,  589. 

2  W.    And  -vonld  haue  had  yt  fayne,  234  ; 

I  liwiild  nott  he  myght  yt  wete,  289; 
Now  7Lwiild  I  fayne  ete,  336. 


THE   AUXILIARIES..  99 

hym  to  zvclde  this  she/de,  340.25;    that  merueylled  7nc — that 
ony  man  of  worship  wylle  haue  adoo  with  hym,  221.35. 

(a)    WOLD  IN  Indirect  Discourse. 
asked  hym  whether  he  wold  goo,  353  —  o- 

297.  WOLD  OF  Willingness. 

1,2.  thouT,  ye  wold  I'rehe  your  othe,  I  wold  not  breke  myji, 
401.31. 

3.  Thenne  was  there  not  one  that  wold  speke  one  luord, 
340.26;  /  thanke  hym  of  his  curtosye  and  goodenes  that  he 
wold  ('was  willing  to")  take  7pon  hym  suelie  labour  for  me, 
234.14. 

298.  WOLD  OF  Customary  Action. 

and  thenne  sir  Tristram  wold  go  in  to  the  wilderfiess  and 
brast  doune  the  trees  and  boives,  and  otherwhyle  whan  he  fond 
the  harp  that  the  lady  sente  hyjn,  thenne  wold  he  harpe  and 
playe  thereupon,  and  wepe  to  gyders,  a7id  somtyme  —  the  lady 
—  wold  — playe  vpon  that  harp.  Thenne  wold  sire  Tristram 
come  to  that  harpe  and  herken  ther  to,  and  somtyme  he  wold 
harpe  hy?n  self,  366.6. 

(a)  The  derivation  from  the  sense  of  wish  appears  in  the 
following :  a?id  euer  for  the  most  party  he  wold  be  in  syr 
launcelots  eoffipany,  270.6;  euer  whatine  that  he  saiue  ony 
lusty nge  of  knyghtes,  that  wold  he  see  and  he  myght,  215.22. 

(b)  JVill  is  used  occasionally  to  express  customary  action : 
But  for  the  ?noost  party  they  wille  not  lyghte  ofi  foote  with 
yonge  ktiyghtes,  344.28  ;  ahveyes  he  wille  be  shotynge  or 
castynge  dartes  and  glad  for  to  see  batailles,  102.23.  Here 
the  derivation  is  plain  from  the  sense  of  wish  or  willing- 
ness.    Cf.  also  the  proverb  :  lyke  wille  draive  to  lyke,  3S8.13. 


100  VERBS  —  S  YNTA  X. 

299.  WILL  OF  Futurity  with  the  Idea  of  Promise 

(first  person). 

to  his  helpc  J  wylle  doo  my  pcnocr,  206.3;  t/iat  wylle  /  doo 
by  the  feithe  of  my  body,  21 1.7;  al  this  wil  I  do,  240.33;  yf  I 
was  mysaiiysed  I  wille  amende  hit,  359.4. 

(a)    WOLD  in  Indirect  Discourse. 
they  pro7nysed  her  that  they  wold  be  iiyghe,  373.30. 

300.  will  of  Simple  Futurity  (all  person.s). 

1.  zvhat  wille  ^ce  doo,  125.20;  >yde  on  afore  —  and  I  wylle 
kepe  myself  in  eouerte,  197.8;  ivhere  ye  are  called  the  da7noysel 
Maledysaunt  I  wille  callc  you  the  damoysel  Bicn  pensaunt, 
349.10;  yf  I  may  spede  7oeI  I  wille  sende  for  yon,  349.23. 

2.  this  is  your  aduys  ('plan')  that  —  ye  wylle  doo  make  a 
crye  ayenst  the  feest,   254.26. 

3.  there  wille  mete  tuith  yon  another  tnaner  knyght,  351.4; 
lete  me  goo  as  adnenture  will  lede  me,  706.12. 

301.  WOLD  OF  Futurity  with  the  Idea  of  Inten- 

tion (third  person). 

they  —  sazve  the  good  man  in  a  re/igions  7ciede  — for  he  wold 
('was  about  to')  synge  masse,  702.33;  whannc  she  wold  haue 
taken  her flyghte,  she  henge  by  the  legges  fast,  208.14. 

Wold  as  a  Modal  Auxiliary. 

302.  in  the  apodosis  of  unreal  conditions : 

1 .  were  / at  Jfiy  lyberte  —  /  wold preuc  hit,  187.15;  /wold 
7iot  haue  hurte  sir  Tristram  and  I  had  kmnven  hym,  395.24. 

2.  and  thou  haddest  syre  Tristrafn  here,  thou  woldest  do 
hym  710  har/)ie,  405.20, 


THE   AUXILIARIES.  101 

3.  and  he  had  come  of  gentyhnen  he  wold  haue  axed  of  you 
hors  and  armour,  214.24;  he — wold  haue  slayne  them  had 
they  not  yelded  thejii,  350.S. 

(a)  in  "  as  if  "  conditions  :  thcr  felle  a  sodcyne  tempest  and 
thoJider  —  as  alle  the  erthe  wold  haue  broken,  706.30. 

(b)  with  protasis  implied:  /  wold  he  lothe  to  doo  that 
thynge,  806.29. 

For  the  subjunctive  in  parallel  cases  see  §§  213,  b,  214. 

(a)  The  development  of  this  usage  from  the  other  uses 
of  will  and  wold  may  be  traced  in  instances  that  mark  the 
transition. 

(i)  from  the  sense  of  wish:  yf  I  myght  with  my  zoorship 
I  wold  not  haue  a  doo  with  yow,  202.37;  with  falshede  ye 
wold  hajce  slayne  me  and  now  it  is  fallen  on  you  bothe,  209.28; 
Alle  this  dyd  sir  Andred  by  cause  he  wold  haue  had  sir 
Tristrams  landes,  368.24  (i.  e.,  in  the  event  of  Tristram's 
death);  he  wold  not  haue  Justed,  but  whether  he  wold  or  not 
syre  Tristram  smote  hym,  393.29. 

(2)  from  the  sense  of  willingness:  thenne  were  I  a  foole 
and  I  wo\d  leue  this  swerd,  207.5;  and  I  had  a  quarel — / 
wold  with  as  good  a  wylle  fyghte  ^oith  hym  as  n'ith  yow, 
439.20;  and  a  tsjolf  and  a  shepe  icere  to  gyders  in  a  pryson, 
the  wolf  wold  suffre  the  sheep  to  be  in  pees,  405.21. 

(3)  from  the  sense  of  intention  :  as  she  wold  haue  ronne 
vpon  the  s%verd,  etc.,  368.34;  he — pulled  hym  afore  hym  — 
and  there  wolde  haue  stryken  of  his  hede,  369.30;  they  wold 
haue  lodged  to  gyders.  But,  etc.,  376.20.  For  the  use  of 
haue  in  this  construction,  see  §  260,  a,  b,  and  note. 

303.    in  substantive  clauses  : 

(a)  Will  and  wold  appear  in  "complementary  final 
clauses  "  after  verbs  of  asking,  etc.  The  cases  are  essen- 
tially parallel  with  the  subjunctive  (§  232)  which  they 
supplant,  but  imply  a  somewhat  more  formal  courtesy. 
The  use  is  derived  directly  from  the  sense  of  willingness : 


102  VERBS  —  S  YNTAX. 

and  there  I praye  you  tJiat  ye  wille  he,  408.8;  /  byseche  yoio 
—  that  ye  wylle  praye  for  my  soule,  801.16;  prayeiige  —  that 
he  wold  fit (fy//e  the  quest,  340.23;  he  asked — tJiat  I  wold 
gyue  hym  7?iete,  253.8. 

(b)  So  7C'oh/  is  used  to  make  a  subjunctive  periphrasis 
in  clauses  after  verbs  of  fearing :  for  drede  of  sir  Dynadaii 
that  he  wold  telle,  etc.,  436.9. 

Confusion  of  shall  and  will. 

304.  The  following  passages  seem  to  indicate  that  in  the 
first  person,  at  least,  shall  and  will  are  not  only  confused, 
but  even  used  interchangeably :  That  shalle  we  not  doo  says 
his  brethere/t  we  wylle  fynde  hym  and  we  may  lyue.  So  shal 
/  sayd  syr  Kay,  196.23  ^  euer  ivhan  I  maye  I  shalle  sende 
"I'uto  you  —  autl  at  alle  ty/nes  ■ —  /  wille  /'(•  (;•/  vour  eoniniaunde- 
t/ient,  371.18;  llienne  wold  /  haue  baumed  hit  —  and  dayly  I 
shold  haue  elypped  the,  207.19. 

Whether  this  confusion  is  merely  apparent,  or  whether  it 
really  exists,  and  to  what  extent,  will  appear  best  from  a 
comparative  table. 

305.  Futurity  wtih    the  Idea  of  Resolve  (first 

person).  > 

/  wylle  slee  her  maugre  thy 
hede,  2  10.10. 


Afyse  —  or  els  thei-e  as  thou 
knelest  /shall  slee  thee,  337.26. 

In  the  name  of  god  said 
Pereyual  I  shalle  assaye  to 
handle  hit,  692.33. 


As  ye  haue  began ne  so  ende, 
for  I  wyll  neuer  medle  with 
you,  405.9. 


(a)  Here,  though  some  confusion  is  evident,  the  idea  of 
resolve  is  far  more  feebly  and,  it  may  be  added,  far  less 
frequently  conveyed  by  shall. 

'  W.  That  'cvyll  I  wete  thys  same  nyght,  128. 
That  schall  I  wete  thys  same  daye,  422. 


THE   AUXILIARIES. 


103 


306,    Futurity    wuh   the   Idea  of  Promise  (first 

person). 


/shall  iiot/dikyoii,  188.23. 


affc  next  fccst  of  Pentecost 
I  wille  be  at  Arthurs  conrtc, 

352-I5- 


Indirect  Discourse. 


t/iey    promised     t/iat    they 
wold  be  nyghe,  373.30. 


syre  Tristram  anii  sire 
Lamorak  sware  that  neuer 
//cv/c'C  neither  ')  0/ hem  sliolde 
fyghtc  ageynst  other,  355.25. 

(a)    Here  there  is  real  confusion.      In  the  following  sec- 
tion some  distinction  seems  to  appear  in  the  second  person. 


307.   Simple  Futurity:  shall  and  will  (all  persons). 

I.  for    that    eause     I    wil 


1.  for  your  noble  dedes  of 
armes  I  shall  sheiu  to  you 
kyndefies,  350.31. 

2.  /  am  sure  ye  shall  be 
discoucryd,  371.12. 


3 .  knowe  thou — that  he  shal 
make  strofige  werre  ageynst 
the,  160.21;  That  shal  Jiot 
nede  (i.  e.,  'that  will  not  be 
necessary'),  337.27. 


spare  you,  336.30. 

2.  this  is  vour  aduys 
('plan')  that  ye  wille  doo 
make  a  erye  agenst  the  fecst, 
254.26. 

3 .  I  knowe  wel  that  he  wylle 
greue  some  of  the  eourte  — for 
on  hym  knyghtes  wylle  be 
bolde,  201.30.^ 


1  In  indirect  discourse  the  same  distinction  appears  as  in  §  308  :  sir 
Kclivdiiis  sdidc  that  he  wolde  ('  was  about  to ')  goo  into  Bretaync,  367.33, 
where  the  idea  of  resolve  is  latent  ;  and  they  told  liyin  that  there  was 
viade  a  grcte  crye  of  titriietnent  bitwene  kynge  Carados  —  and  the  kytige 
of  N^orth  zvatys,  and  eyther  sholde  ('was  io')  juste  ageyne  other,  377.16, 
where  the  latent  idea  is  of  something  ordained  or  apiM)inted. 


104 


VERBS  —  S  YNTA  X. 


308.    Simple    Futurity:    shold    and   wold"  (third 

person). 

satve  the  good  man  in  a 
religious  ivede  — for  he  wold 
('  was  about  to ')  syiige  masse, 
702.33. 


whati  Arthur  shold  ('  was 
about  to  ')  departe  he  warned 
al  hys  hoost  that,  etc.,  845.22. 


(a)  Here  there  is  a  distinction.  Shold  implies  appoint- 
ment ;  wold,  intention.  The  distinction  appears  in  the 
following: 


there  I'pon  the  mor/i  shold 
be  a  grete  turnement,  226.12. 


ivhannc  syr  Launceh^t  wold 
haue  go/ie  ('  was  about  to  go ') 
thorou  oute  them,  they  scat- 
teryd,  206.2  i. 


309.    shold  and  wold  in 
Conditions  ( 

I .  had  ye  been  fresshe  — 
as  I  was  I  wote  wel  I  shold 
not  haue  endured  so  /onge, 
350.29. 


2.  a/id  they  7iyste  that  ye 
were  of —  Arthurs  courte,  ye 
shold  be  assay  led  anone, 
700.23. 

3.  tJienJie  felle  there  a  thon- 
der  and  a  rayne  as  heuen 
and  erf  he  shold  goo  to  gyder, 
263.19. 


THE  ApODOSIS    of    UnREAL 
ALL    persons). 

1.  though  she  hail  brought 
with  her  syre  launcelot  —  / 
wold  thynke  myself  good 
ynough,  234.35  ;  that  shame- 
ful syght  eauseth  me  to  haue 
courage  —  more  than  I  wold 
haue  had  —  and  thou  were  a 
wel  ruled  knyght,  237.30. 

2.  What  wold  ye  do  —  &> 
ye  had  sir  Tristram,  390.11. 


3.  for  the  with  ther  felle  a 
sodeyne  tempest  a /id  thonder  — 
as  alle  the  crthe  wold  haue 
broke /I,  706.29. 


IMPERSONAL    VERBS.  105 

310.     SHOLD  AND  WOLD  IN  OBJECT  CLAUSES  AFTER  VeRBS 

OF  Wishing,  etc. 


god  zvold  that  yc  shold  put 
/lym  from  fnc,  221.29. 


/  7C'oli/  that  yc  wold  ledc  771c 
the7-to,  716.23. 


(a)  In  this  section  and  the  preceding,  a  distinction  seems 
to  be  kept  in  the  second  person.  It  is  evident,  moreover, 
that  sho/d  loses  much  more  of  its  identity  than  rao/d,  and  is 
more  freely  used  as  a  mere  modal  auxiliary. 

311.  To  what  extent  the  logical  distinction  between  sha// 
and  w'/7/  according  to  the  person  of  the  subject  obtains  in 
this  period,  appears  from  the  arrangement  of  instances  in 
the  foregoing  sections. 

IMPERSONAL    VERBS. 

312.  The  common  Chaucerian  forms  persist:  hy77i  tho/^,i;ht, 
184.5;  ^"^  7'epe7iteth,  185.25;  the  bchoucth.,  i87-5;  ^'^^  ought, 
201.19;  it pleaseth  he77i,  \(^'^.y,  77ie  sci7icth,  202. TyO\  hoiv  lykcth 
yow,  215.26;  7?ic  lackc'th,  1 15.15;  hyi/i  ticded,  216.35;  ^^y^ 
bese77ieth,  220.4;  hy/n  tyst,  230.15;  /iie  fo7'tky7iketh,  713.23; 
hy77i  happc/id,  200.2;   byfclle  hy7/i,  712.17. 

(a)  But  there  is  a  very  evident  wavering,  the  impersonal 
construction  existing  side  by  side  with  a  newly  formed  per- 
sonal construction,  or  in  some  cases  giving  way  before  it : 
a>id  ye  tyst,  206.35;  y^  "'^'^^  ^^'■^^^  76.36;  he  shalle  repeiite, 
153.24;  hefo/'thoi/ghte  hy77i,  712.31 ;  they  t hough te  it  soo  swete 
that  hit  teas  7/ierueinous  to  telle,  719.28. 

REFLEXIVE   VERBS. 

313.  The  verbs  used  reflexively  are  as  follows : 

(a)  assente  :    /  assente  wr,  71.12. 

(b)  auyse:    baly7i  auysed  hy77i,  (^2.2,2. 

(c)  cast:   I  cast  771c  to  be  there,  196.9. 


106  VERBS  —  SYNTAX. 

(d)  complayne  :   he  wo/d  not  complayiic  hym,  848.14. 

(e)  desmaye:   desmaye you  not,  (i<^Q).2\. 

(f)  doubte  :    doubtc  the  no  thynge,  16G.1. 

(g)  drede  :    he  dred  hy/n  sore,  2oG.\'] . 
(h)  fere:    /  shal  ?iot  fere  me,  ?>:\o.\. 

(i)     haste:    haste yoii  to  the  coiirte,  196.31. 

(j)     hy(h)e:   he  —  hyed  hy?n,  206.2c). 

(k)    playe  :   he  wente  to  playe  hym,  ']o'6. 20. 

(1)     purpose:   he  purposed  hyin,  I2\.z,. 

(m)  remembre  :   she  remembryd  her,  (i<^(i.\\. 

(n)    repente  :    I repente  me,  701.29. 

(o)  thynke,  bethynke,  forthynke :  Jie  thought  hyjn  self  to 
preue  hym  self,  183.20;  syr  JSeaumayns  bethoughte  hym, 
239.31;  he  forthoughte  hym,  712.31. 

VERBS    TAKING    TWO    OBJECTS. 

314.  The  verbs  bereue  and  benime  sometimes  take  two 
accusatives:  byreue  hyvi  his  /o/ides,  163.14;  the  lyon  bercifte 
hym  his  sheld,  578.34;  that  stede  lie  hath  benome  7ne,  647.13; 
I  haue  benome  hym  tuany  of  his  men,  653.3;  syr  launcehd  had 
berafte  hym  his  queue,  814.27.  This  construction  holds  even 
in  the  passive :  fnany  londes  that  were  bereued  lordes,  44.7 ; 
al  welthe  is  hym  berafte,  400.8.  But  the  construction  with 
of  occurs  :    to  bireue  fne  of  my  landes,  675.8.-^ 

(a)  The  verbs  aske  and  requyre  sometimes  show  a  similar 
construction  :  Try  strain — asked  hytn  eoiinceil,  279.13  (the  or- 
dinary construction  is  with  of.  See  §  338.9  and  a) ;  ye  requyre 
me  the  grettest  thynge  that  ony  man  may  requyre  me,  732.3. 

(b)  The  following  may  involve  a  dative  of  interest:  I  dis- 
charge the  this  Courte — and  Iforfe?ide  the  my  felaushyp,  727.7. 

1  O.  E.  has  sometimes  the  accusative,  sometimes  the  genitive,  of  the 
thing  deprived,  but  regularly  the  accusative  (usually  a  pronoun)  of  the 
person. 


THE  PASSIVE.  107 


THE    PASSIVE. 


315.  The  sole  ().  E.  passive  {/idta/i)  is  still  in  use:  tv/iat 
heteth  your  lad}\  216.3.  '^^'^^  present,  however,  is  extremely 
rare.  The  preterit,  though  often  found,  is  much  less  com- 
mon than  in  Chaucer :  the  one  hyght  Tv/ifagil,  and  the  other 
castel  hy^t  Terrabyl,  35.36;  there  uuis  a  hynge  that  hyghte 
Pelles,  695.26. 

316.  The  regular  passive  periphrasis  with  be  needs  no 
exemplification.  The  only  advance  appears  in  the  freedom 
with  which  this  construction  is  applied  to  verbs  compounded 
with  prepositions :  thus  aoas  syr  Arthur  —  euyl  sayd  of, 
840.25;  they  were  fo  ugh  fen  with  at,  29.14;  sir  Persy  des  n'as 
sofl  done  to,  385.16. 

317.  Two  older  passive  periphrases  are  still  in  common 
use  : 

(a)  The  construction  with  the  impersonal  fnen  (§  73), 
and  more  rarely 

(b)  The  construction  with  ^7-  and  a  verbal  noun  (§  340,  b) : 
whyle  as  this  was  a  doyng,  84.12. 

318.  The  active  intinitive  is  often  used  in  a  passive 
sense  after  auxiliaries  (see  §§  266,  269,  271,  273). 

319.  An  active  infinitive  with  passive  force  appears  in  a 
few  instances  after  "it  is":  ////  is  to  suppose  he  that  henge 
that  sheld  ther  he  wille  not  be  longe  t her  fro,  141.9  ;  ^  what  is  to 
meane  that  syre  Launcehit  felle  dounc  of  his  hors  he  hath  left 
pryde  and  taken  hym  to  hufnytyte,  669.30  (an  obscure  passage). 

The  construction  seems  to  be  a  Gallicism  (c'est  a  supposer). 

1  W.    Of  thys  chaplett  hym  was  full  fayne, 
And  of  his  wyfe,  was  Jiott  to  laync,  68 
(i.e.,  'it  was  not  to  be  denied').     .Shakspere  has  "what's  to  do."     See 
Abbott,  359. 


108  PREPOSITIONS. 


PREPOSITIONS. 


320.  aboute  with  the  infinitive  means  '  engaged  in  '  (see 
§  259J:  and  thou  to  be  aboute  to  dishonoure  the  fiob/e  kynge, 
774.4  (i.e.,  'to  be  engaged  in  dishonouring');  Madame  ye 
are  aboute  to  bitraye  7}u\  775.28. 

321.  afore  (see  before  and  to/ore,  and  for  the  a-,  on, 
§  340J  is  used  (rarely)  of  precedence  or  excellence :  there 
was  none  that  niyghie  do  fio  manere  of  fuaystry  afore  hym, 

467-35- 

322.  after. 

1 .  '  according  to ' :  euery  man  was  set  after  his  degree, 
104.18;  alle  thys  shalle  be  done  a.itev  your  entente,  243.13. 

2.  with  verbs  of  desiring,  where  y^r  is  usual :  we  wysshed 
after  jvzf',  199.23;  he  asked  ^iiQx  mete,  201,21. 

323.  ageynst(e),  ayenst,  ageyn. 

1.  local  ("opposite  to'):  there  7vas  sene  in  the  chircheyard 
ayenst  the  hyghe  aulter  a  grete  stone,  40.21;  repose  hym 
ageynst  the  sonne,  370.30. 

2.  temporal:  Ageyne  the  feest  of pe7iteeost,  159.14;  ageynst 
a  nyghte,  200.3;  by  cause  he  wold  not  be  hurte  —  ageynste  the 
grete  lustes,  377.27. 

3.  of  opposition  {passim). 

4.  of  mere  meeting :  the  yates  of  heuen  opened  ayenst  hym 
(i.e.,  at  his  coming),  859.6;  he  dressid hym  ageynst  hytn  (i.  e., 
to  meet  him),  715.25.-^  Cf.  also,  soo  dothe  my  herte  lyghte 
ageynst  hym  (i.  e.,  lighten  at  his  approach),  793.33. 

1  W.    Hys  wyfe  was  war  of  hys  comyng, 
And  ageynst  hym  went  sche,  534. 


PREPOSITIONS.  109 

324.  at,  attt\  att  (due  to  confusion  with  atte  for  at  tJie. 
See  §  92). 

1.  local,  in  the  ordinary  cases,  and:  syr  gaufiter  was  at 
t/ie  ert/ie,  202.23;  t/i/rice  hcin  oiitc  at  (i.  e.,  through)  a  7ayn- 
(iowe,  249.23.  Cf.  also,  t/ity  laid  icatche  bothe  att  forestcs 
and  at  alle  maner  of  inai,  585.27. 

2.  Of  the  other  uses,  the  most  noteworthy  is  that  with 
personal  pronouns  and  proper  nouns,  where  other  preposi- 
tions have  supplanted  at :  take  his  Icue  at  the  duchesse  d?^  at 
thein  al,  264.31;  asked  couficeil  at  hevt  a  I,  47.10;^  ^ue  ^uille 
begynne  at  hyvi,  105.14;  would  not  eome  at  hym,  35.29  (i.  e., 
'to  his  castle,'  F.  chez  lui);  I haue  ben  at  kyng  Ryons,  76.27.^ 

3.  Among  the  set  phrases  are  the  common  at  hondc  and 
at  leyser,  besides  at  aeord,  the  more  noticeable  at  certay?ie 
(certainly.  Cf.  in  certayne  in  the  same  sense),  and  att  annes 
(to  arms  !  F.  aux  armes.  See  the  etymology  of  alarm  in 
Skeat.  The  phrase  unto  armes  is  also  used).  At  t ravers  is 
a  rendering  of  F.  a  travers. 

325.  before  (cf.  afore  and  tofore),  of  precedence,  in  the 
sense  of  '  beyond  '  or  '  above  ' :  alle  maner  of  straunge  aduen- 
tures  ca?ne  before  Arthur  as  at  that  feest  before  alle  other 
feestes,  213.10. 

326.  besydes,  besyde. 

The  modern  distinction  between  the  two  forms  does  not 
appear. 

327.  betwixe,  betwyx{e),  betivyxte,  betwixt.,  of  more  than 
two  :    betivixe  thre  knyghtes,  232.30. 

1  \V.    I  take  wytnes  att  gret  and  small(e),  637. 

2  "  For  I  have  ben  right  now  at  Deiphebus,"  Chancer,  Troilus  and 
Criseyde,  II.,  1480.  In  the  following,  at  seems  to  mean  'in  the  pres- 
ence of,'  and  so  '  on  account  of  ':  And  yf  hit  7vere  not  at  the  renerence 
of  your  hyhcnes,  I  shold  now  haue  ben  renenged,  487.36. 


no  PREPOSITIOiXS. 

328.   by. 

1.  Besides  the  ordinary  local  uses  note:  S7tiote  of  hofJte 
his  legges  by  tlic  knees,  173.25 ;  smote  hyni  tliurgh  the  sheld  by 
lowc  of  the  sheeld,  110.3;  haae  l>re/it  am/  s/ay/ie  a/  the  peple 
that  they  may  amie  by,  64.7  ;  the  teres  began  to  renne  doiine  by 
his  lysage,  622.22. 

2.  Temporal:  by  tymes  (and  by  tyme),  by  thys  ('now'), 
by  thenne;  and  further,  by  my  dayes,  S42.11;  by  this  done 
he  7vas — faynt,  249.24;  by  the  spaee  of  two  yere,  604.5;  and 
in  the  conjunctive  phrase  liy  that  (§  365). 

3.  of  degree,  in  comparison:    more  by  a  yarde,  206.15. 

4.  of  distribution  :  by  one  and  o//e,  26^^.18;  red  it  7O0rd  by 
700 rd,  457.20.-^ 

5.  'concerning,'  'about,'  etc.:  what  say  ye  h^  this  gest, 
204.26  ;  they  spak  alle  shame  by  Cornysshe  knyghtes,  360.1; 
he  spak  grete  vyionye  by  the  kynge,  and  speeially  by  the  Qiiene 
Gaeneuer,  417.28.^  An  extension  of  this  use  seems  to 
appear  in  the  following:  here  hai/e  ye  sene  this  day  a  grete 
myrakel  by  Corsabryn  (i.  e.,  in  Corsabryn'3  case),  489.33. 

6.  '  in  accordance  with,'  '  according  to  ':  hejis  wyl  I  neiier 
goo  —  by  7ny  wylh%  850.26;  //  semeth  by  yoic  —  that  ye 
knowe,  etc.,   241.23. 

7.  'on  account  of,'  'because  of:  //  may  not  be  by  >!0 
reason,  214.35;  ^■^^ ''''''  oughte  —  to  beware  hy  yonder  knyghtes, 
237.24;  by  my  prowesse  —  a  duke  hath  inaade  me  knyght, 
95.7.      Cf.  7vhereby  in  the  sense  of  7vherefore,  297.24. 

8.  of  personal  instrumentality,  passing  over  to  the  idea 
of  agency:  had  icord — by  the  d^oeff  233.15;  sale^ved  yo7ii 
by  me,  724.25;  she  shall  hai/e  no  lylony  by  me,  1 15.14;  by 
me  thou  hast  desdaync  and  seorne,  727.4. 

9.  of  agency  {passim). 

10.    by  cause  of  is  used  as  a  preposition. 

1  Bacon  has  the  phrase  "  by  little  and  little." 

2  "  How  say  you  by  the  French  lord  ? "  —  McrcJi.  l^en.,  I.  2,  47. 


PREPOiilTIONS.  Ill 

1 1 .    by  mcancs  of  appears  in  various  forms  : 

by  the  moyaJic  ^y  (Caxton's  Preface). 

by  the  ?iieane  <>/'  (ibid.). 

by  the  moyne  ^y"  (ibid.). 

by  this  meane,  56.30. 

by  no  meatie  (adv.),  1 1S.15. 

by  the  memies  0/,  i2().i  i. 

by  good  meaiies  of,  77.16. 

by  her  nieanes,  159.34. 

329.  endlong(e)  is  more  specific  than  along.  It  means 
'from  end  to  end':  drofc  sir  Palomydcs  oner — tJiivart  atui 
endlonge  allc  the  feld,  524.16.  Sometimes,  however,  it 
seems  to  mean  no  more  than  'along':  he  rode  endlong  tJie 
gates  of  that  fnanoy?-e,  193.16. 

330.  euen  longes  occurs  in  much  the  same  sense  as 
along:  sir  paloinydes  sailed  euen  longes  hiunber  to  the  costes 
of  the  see,  517.34.         ' 

331.  excepte  is  common. 

Oute  excepte  occurs  once  :  ye  wolde  yeiie  any  man  the  yefte 
that  he  wold  aske,  oute  excepte  that  7oere  vnresonable,  102.10. 
Cf.  the  verb  oute  cepte :  I  oute  cepte  Jiym  of  a  I  knyghtes, 
539.23.  In  like  manner  the  participle  oute  taken  occurs 
once:  oute  taken  my  lady  your  queue  she  is  maheles,  540.26, 
and  the  verb  o/^te  take  once :  of  alle  knyghtes  I  oute  take 
none,   542.19. 

332.  for. 

1 .  Temporal :  for  thennc. 

2.  'in  respect  of:  that  shall  not  ye  knowe  for  me,  216.5 
(i.  e.,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned) ;  so  the  strokes  ben  on  hit  as 
I  fond  hit,  and  neuer  shalle  be  af/iendyd  for  me,  339.2.  This 
is  probably  the  force  oi  for  in  the  obscure  phrase:  in  al  — 
dedes  of  artnes  both  for  lyf  and  deth,  183.9. 


112  PREPOSITIONS. 

Here  too  seems  to  belong  the  phrase  her-e  is  for  me.,  used 
apparently  to  indicate  readiness  :  As  for  that  sayd  Dyiiadan 
i7iakc  the  redy,  for  here  is  for  me,  506.2. 

3.  for  is  used  to  establish  a  sort  of  apposition,  where 
modern  usage  has  either  for  or  as  and  either  preposition 
is  logically  expletive :  Jie  7oy//e  knowe  me  for  his  better., 
217.10;  7i<cl  knowen  —  for  noble  knyghtes,  252.5;  this  was 
taken  —  for  a  myrakle.,  716.12.  Similar  is  the  use  —  was 
fedde  —  for  almesse,  221.25. 

4.  '  for  the  sake  of  '  {fassim). 

5.  'on  account  of":  for  dredde  of  god,  198.7;  he  durst 
nowhere  ryde  nor  goo  for  hym,  155.27  ;  /  fuay  not  —  sane  thy 
lyf  for  the  shameful  dethes  that  thou  hast  eaused,  239.34. 
This  use  oi  for  is  the  base  of  the  conjunctive  phrase  not  for 
thenne. 

(a)  A  slight  extension  of  this  use  appears  in  the  follow- 
ing :  And  yf  thou  be  ouereome,  thou  shaft  not  be  quyte  for 
losyng  of  ouy  of  thy  me/nbrys,  but  thou  shaft  be  shamed  for 
eiier,  649.33.  The  same  phrase  occurs  two  pages  beyond 
(65 1. 11)  with  the  preposition  by. 

(b)  The  use  oi  for  in  the  sense  of  'against,'  of  remedies, 
etc.  (Lat.  contra),  may  be  derived  from  this  sense.  Cf.  she 
lapped  the  chyfd  as  zcel  as  she  myght  for  cold,  274. 18. 

6.  'in  spite  of:  I  wylle — assaye  hym  iox  alle  his  pryde, 
202.14;  for  al  your  boost  they  lye  in  the  dust,  228.5;  f^i'^fiy 
knyghtes  —  ouermatehed  syr  gawayne  for  afle  the  thryes  myghte 
that  he  had,  143.25;  this  ehild  wyffe  not  laboure  for  me  for 
ony  thyng  that  ■ — ■  /  may  doo,  102.2  i ;  /  7i'r//  aeeomplysshe  my 
message  for  al  your  ferdful  wordes,  167.30.' 

7.  reciprocal  and  distributive,  'in  return,'  'over  against': 
playne  bataille  hande  for  hand,  250.34;  there  mette  two  for 
tivo,  48.24;   there  was  not  one  for  one  that  slewe  hym  (i.  e.,  it 

1  W.  Thou  schalt  helpe  to  dyght  thys  lyne 
For  all  thy  fers(e)  fare,  323. 


PREPOSITIONS.  1 1 3 

was  not  a  fair  fight),  522.2.     This  seems  to  be  the  force  of 
for  in  the  following :    knyghtcs  of  the  inoost  noble  prowesse  in 
the  world  for  to  accompte  soo  /luviy  for  soo  many,  3S3.9. 
8.    with  the  infinitive  (see  §  238). 

333.  from  and  fro  are  both  common,  and  are  used  with- 
out distinction.  The  idea  of  separation  is  quite  as  distinct 
as  the  idea  of  source  ;  thus,  he  sawe  his  peple  so  slayn  from 
hym,  846.17.  In  fact, yOw;/  is  commonly  used  in  the  sense 
of  '  away  from,'  'oft,'  etc.:  hcrlpe  hym  fro  Jiis  hors,  217.30; 
god  7iwld  that  ye  shold  put  hym  from  me,  221.29;  ^'^^''  ^^T^^'^'f 
7vas  gladde  the  ryng  was  ixoxvi  hym,  262.12  (i.e.,  was  off  his 
hand,  out  of  his  possession). 

froward.  The  adverb  fnnaard  occurs  in  the  phrase 
toward  a?id  froTvard :  he  rode  many  Ion  rn  eyes  hot  he  toivard 
and  fnnvard,  634.20.  The  preposition  is  used  in  the  sense 
of  'from'  or  'away  from":  cam  froivard  Cafnelot,  116.22 
('  from  ')  ;  on  the  ferther  syde  of  the  hors  froward  the  knyghte, 
209.21  ('away  from');  So  —  Kynge  marke  rode  froward 
them,   430.34. 

334.  in. 

1.  local  and  temporal :  in  euery  day,  c^oo.i ;  borne  Qhoxn') 
in  may  day,  75.13;  and  for  on :  felle  in  a  dedely  sivounc  in  the 
flore,  249.26;   7nade  a  crosse  in  his  forhede,  710.24. 

2.  for  into:  there  came  neiier  a  better  in  my  hand,  204.25; 
entred  the  sone  of  god  in  the  wombe  of  a  mayd,  703.9;  f allot 
in  despair,  723.34.'^ 

3.  for  other  prepositions :  jv/r  JSParhaiis  abode  in  the  see 
('at,'  'by,'  or  'on'),  278.24;  Thenne  came  syre  Brennor  —  wyth 
his  lady  in  his  hand  muffeld  (i.  e.,  he  led  her  in  by  the  hand), 
31 1. 16;   in  god  is  al  (i.  e.,  with,  in  the  power  of),  289.6. 

4.  of  title  and  ownership:  icherin  I  am  en ty tied,  162.15; 
to  take  possessioji  in  the?}ipyre,  162.19. 

■  \V.  Tf  eiiy  morcell  come  in  thy  tlirote,  494. 


114  PREPOSITIOXS. 

5.  /;/  seems  to  be  used  of  purpose  in  the  following: 
charged  hym  in  rcniyssyon  of  his  syniics  to  haste  hym,  etc., 
856.28  ('for  the  remission'?).  ///  may,  however,  be  used 
here  like  o)i  in  phrases  of  charge,  asseveration,  etc.^  Cf. 
also:    doo  bataille  in  the  ryght  of  you  and  your  land,  278.8. 

6.  ///  for  on  ('^) :  In  the  phrase  ///  lykc  hard  {soo  they  held 
the  Journey  ('  fought  throughout  the  day '  j  eucryche  in  lyke 
hard,  704.35 ),  in  lyke  is  equivalent  to  07i  lykc,  alike  (see  §  340, 
and  a).  Thus  the  meaning  is  'equally  hard,'  'with  equal 
vigour.'  So  also :  syr  Tristram  foughte  stylle  in  lyke  hard, 
610.18;  all  he  loueth  in  lyke  moche,  751.34;  syxe  Inches  depe 
and  in  lyke  longe,  770.15.  As  in  the  corresponding  use  of 
on  (a-),  the  preposition  is  sometimes  dropped :  helde  the 
bataill  all  that  daye  lyke  hard,  58.13;  syr  launcelot  held  alto ey 
the  stoure  lyke  hard,  394.1.  Cf.  also  /;/  doune  (' adown, 
down  ' )  in  the  following  :  thty  hcive  so  fast  —  that  they  cutte 
in  doune  half  theire  swe?-des,  444.12." 

7.  The  commonest  set  phrases  are  ///  eertayn{e)  ('cer- 
tainly ' ;  so  at  certayne,  which,  however,  means  rather  '  cer- 
tain'),  in  especyal,  in  lyke  wysc,  in  close  ('secret'),  in  one  ('to- 
gether, at  once ')  :  euer  in  one  sir  Agrauayne  and  sir  Afordrcd 
cryed,  801.10.  ///  that  entent  occurs  beside  the  more  common 
to  that  entente.  In  handes  means  '  at  close  quarters  ' :  vnnethe 
he  myght  putte  upon  hym  his  hcbnc  and  take  his  liors  l>ut  they 
were  in  handes  with  hym,  384.19. 

8.  in  to,  always  printed  as  two  words,  is  used  sometimes 
where  /;/  is  usual:  alyghte  in  to  the  ship,  699.2;  arryued  in 
to  the  Ilond  (Caxton's  Rubric,  14.34);  the  queue  despoylled 
in  to  her  smok,  810.30. 

1  This  supposition  has  additional  warrant  from  the  following  case 

in  W.: 

Ha,ue  yt  /;/  godes  blessyng  and  myne,  362. 

2  W.  uses  in  still  more  freely  in  such  phrases:  in  hye  (179),  in  same 
(602),  in  lond  (475). 


PREPOSITIONS.  115 

335.  longe  on  {longc  vpoti),  '  on  account  of,'  '  owing  to  ' : 
fAat  is  longe  on  your  syiine,  657.35;  alle  7oas  long  vpon  hvo 
vnhappy  knyghtes^  797.10.-^ 

336.  maugre,  magrt\  mau/grc,  occurs  most  commonly  in 
the  phrase  maugre  thy  {/lis,  he?-)  hcdc.  The  noun  i?iaitgre 
occurs  twice :  ye  shalle  Jiaue  —  loue  and  t/ia/ike  where  other 
shalle  haiie  maugre,  807.10.  Cf.  405.28.  The  phrase 
fnaulgre  of  them  aL  744.12,  is  perhaps  an  echo  of  the  transi- 
tional form  (i.  e.,  ///  maugre,  etc.).  Maugre  with  the  genitive 
occurs  once  :   maulgre  sir  vuirdreds,  841.16. 

337.  nere  is  ordinarily  confined  to  the  adverbial  use. 
The  phrase  7iere  hand(e),  commonly  adverbial,  is  used  rarely 
as  a  preposition:   nere  hand  her,  773.7. 

338.  of. 

1.  Of  is  not  distinguished  in  spelling  from  its  adverbial 
base  ^/('off '). 

2.  Besides  its  ordinary  local  uses,  of  has  also  the  sense 
of  on :  trauereyd  for  to  be  of  bothe  ha /ides  of  sire  la  eote  male 
tayle,  350.4  (i.  e.,  on  both  sides  of);  and  in  the  sense  of 
'off,'  'from'  (cf.  i):  the  lady  of  the  lake  took  up  her  heed 
and  henge  it  ip  by  the  hayre  of  ('from  ')  her  sadel  bo7oe,  362.19. 

3.  Of  i?,  used  temporally,  in  the  sense  of  'during':  of  al 
that  day  he  had  but  lytel  rest,  263.21;  blynd  of  long  tytne, 
715.24;  the  truage  —  ^ilas  behynde  of  seucn  yere,  278.26;  of 
alle  that  quarter  of  sommer  syr  Tristram  eoude  tieuer  mete  with 
sir  palomydes,  570.10:  he  —  had  tasted  none  other  mete  of  a 
grete  whyle,  668.18.  This  use  may  explain  of  in  the  follow- 
ing :  he  loued  the  queue  —  aboue  al  other  la  dyes  damoysels  of 
his  lyf  183.17. 

4.  Of  separation,  with  verbs  of  depriving,  delivering, 
etc.,  in  the  sense  of  'out  of,'  'from,'  etc.:  woniie  the  feld  of 

1  "  I  can  nat  telle  where-*'//  it  was  long." — C.  T.,  G.  930. 


116  PREPOSITIONS. 

this  knyghtc,  134.13;  Gaherys  —  7vaiiuc  his  lady  of  hym, 
368.15  (cf.  the  modern  vulgarism  "I  won  it  off  him"); 
7'cscowed  of  the  theiics,  219.37;  //  is  no  good  k?iyghtes  parte 
to  kite  hym  of  Jiis  worship.  260.26;  staunched  of  his  hledyng, 
250.4;  ye  maye  dra-wc  ontc  the  so7vks  of  erthely  payiie, 
716.29. 

A  rarer  use  appears  in  the  following :  awoke  of  his  S7voioi, 
811.32;  bad  them  seace  of  their  batailh%  413.29. 

5.  Of  source,  in  various  relations  usually  expressed  by 
fro7n. 

(a)  of  descent :  tfioti  arte  come  of  men  of  -worship,  214.10; 
broder  7'nto  syr  Gawayii  of  fader  and  moder.,  218.22. 

(b)  of  feudal  tenure:    knyghtes  that  hold  oi  me,  224.20. 

(c)  in  other  relations:  lone  muste  aryse  of  the  herte, 
762.20;  oure  kyng  brought  vp  of  children  two  tnen,  518.32; 
ma?iy  ther  7vere  that  kyng  Arthur  had  made  vp  of  nought, 
840.26;  that  7vas  oi  his  grete  gentylnes,  215.16;  dame  Lyoncs 
desyred  of  the  kynge  that,  etc.,  271.29;  as  is  of  record, 
160.16. 

(d)  shading  into  the  idea  of  agency:  she  had de  children 
oi  kynge  Melyodas,  275.6;  alle  the  chere  that  myghte  be  dotie 
bothe  of  the  kynge  and  of  many  other  kynges,  268.37;  neue  ere 
had  I  suche  a  stroke  of  mans  ha?id,  690.1 ;  /  compte  me  neuer 
the  zvers  knyght  for  a  fa  lie  of  sir  Bleoberys,  342.12  ;  this  is  a 
grete  despytc  of  ('from  ')  a  Sarasyn,  487.6;  and  they  fay  le  of 
the  Sangreal  hit  is  in  7vaste  ('  time  thrown  away ')  of  f '  on  the 
part  of)  alle  the  remenau}it  to  recouer  hit,  665.11;  of  no  lechc 
she  coude  haue  no  remedye,  705.16. 

6.  of  agency:  he  was  honoured  of  hyhe  and  hnve,  212.30; 
of  hym  I  7vil  be  made  knyght  and  els  of  none,  216.27  ;  This  is 
wel  said  of  ('  by  ')  you-,  254.9 ;  /  iville  not  be  knoioen  of  neyther 
fnore  /le  lesse,  257.25. 

7.  of  instrument,  means,  etc.:  7oere  fedde  of  the  holy 
sangreal  (Caxton's  Rubric),  30.2;   dye  of  my  hand,  168.6. 


rREPOS/T/ONS.  117 

8.    of  cause. 

(a)  literally,  'from,'  'on  account  of':  I fcle  myself — sore 
brysed  of  the  dedcs  of  yesterday,  543.20;  of  t/iat  stroke  syr 
Bla7nor  felle  to  the  erthe,  259.30;  stonyed  of  the  dethe  of 
this  fair  lady,  107.22  ;  /  shal  dye  of  the  l>yrthe  of  the, 
274.13  ;  inv  moiler  dyed  of  })u\  291.4;  he  shalle  fieiter 
fayle  of  shame,  693.2  (where  the  meaning  is  'on  account 
of  shame  '). 

(i)  This  use  seems  to  explain  the  meaning  borne  by 
the  phrase  for  the  /oue  of  in  the  following :  destroyed 
her  self  for  the  /one  of  his  deth,  82.30  ;  thi/s  7cas  a  I  the 
Coi/rte  troiilded  for  the  lone  of  ///('  departyeyon  of  tho 
kiiyghtcs,   621.25. 

(2)  of  in  this  sense  appears  frequently  with  adjectives 
and  participles:  bawdy  of  the  greee,  218.36;  dede  of  oldenes, 
7  15.33;  /  (tm  kith  —  of  that  gyfte  I haiie  gyneji  yotv,  1 12.6; 
they  ivere  sory  of  his  felauship,  428.6  (cf.  mod.  E.  'glad  of 
his  company');  heuy  of  //,  713.22;  feiyne  of  his  eomy/ige, 
211.28^;  lam  —  agreued  oi  your  greuait/iee,  205.16;  made 
a  lie  the  see  reed  of  his  blood,  165.18. 

(3)  Similar  are  the  common  collocations  joye  of  and  pyte 
of:  they  7)iade  grcte  loye  of  hetn,  705.10;  ////  zvas  grete  pyte  of 
her  dethe,  709.4. 

(b)  metaphorically,  'in  accordance  with,'  '  according  to ': 
proffiyse  me  of  your  curtosy  —  to  eause  hym  to  be  made  knyghte, 
189.29;  syfi  that  ye  —  requyre  me  of  knyghthode  to  helpc  yow, 
208.25;  they  —  requyred  hy7n  of  Jiis  good  grace  to  be  of  good 
comfoi'te,  268.9. 

(c)  Hence  'in  return  for,'  etc.:  7nake  her  amendys  of  al 
the  trcspas,  240.29.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  common 
thafiked — of  belongs  here  or  under  9. 

(i)  Very  similar  is  of  meaning  'for  the  sake  of:  prayd 
hym  oi  felauship  that  was  bitwene  them  to  telle  hym,  721.13. 

^  W.  Ther-<y  was  he  f  ulle  blythe,  636. 


1 1 S  PREPOSITIONS. 

9.  (y  is  very  commonly  used  in  the  sense  of  'concerning,' 
'about,'  'in  respect  of:  kynge  Marke  was  behynde  of  the 
tniage,  277.24;  /le  asked  the  dicerf  of  best  eouuceil,  263.7; 
I kepe  ('  care  ')  tiomore  of  the  dwerf,  245.1 1 ;  al  men  wondred  of 
the  jioblesse  of  syr  launcelot,  261.11 ;  I  meriieyle  of  the,  405.19; 
by  hym  that  passcth  of  bonnte  and  of  knyghthode  al  them,  etc., 
716.22;  to  telle  the  troiith  of  his  quest,  117.24;  rejuendn-e  of 
tills  vnstable  world,  723.23;  he  retnembryd  of  icyles  and  trea- 
son, 495.33;  Syr  Fersant  Is  —  no  thyng  of  mys^te  nor  strength, 
229.15. 

(a)  Here  belong  probably  the  following  common  colloca- 
tions :  reuenge you  of  the  dethe  of  syr  Gaiuayn,  852.28;  he  — 
prayd  them  ol  foryeuenes,  251.19;  they — praid  the  lord  of 
the  castel  of  herburgh,  427.19;  he  eryed  hem  merey  of  that  he 
had  done  to  thetn,  722.17;  and  perhaps  also,  that  knyghte ■ — 
requyred  hym  of  lustes,  377.13.^  Cf.  also:  ye  haue  reseowed 
me  of  my  lyf  414.13  ;  I shalle  lielpe yow  —  of  an  hors,  642.4; 
he  serehed  his  body  of  other  thre  woundes,  795.2. 

(b)  Here  also  belong  many  ^^-phrases  after  adjectives  : 
true  offals  of,  noble  of  7cyse  of,  myghty  of  etc.;  e.  g.,feble  of 
good  byleue,  663.29.^ 

10.  Hence  of  is  used  to  mean  'considering,'  'taking  into 
account':  tuel  made  of  his  ycres,  102.28;  that  was  a  myghty 
stroke  of  ('for'j  a  yonge  knyglit,  106.24  (i-  6.,  considering  his 
youth);  a  worshipful  knyghte — of  his  yeres,  252.29;  oi  a 
synner  erthely  thotu  hast  no  piere,  660.23. 

11.  Of'\s  partitive  in  the  following:  they  were  served  of 
al  wynes  and  metes,  126.7;  S)'''^  ^'J'''  ^^  ''^  maner  of  metes, 
214.20;  serue  hytn  of  the  7cyn,^  271.8;  take  with  you  of  the 
blood,  720.6;   saleice  my  lorde  sir  launcelot  my  fader  and  of 

1  W.    beseke  her  of  grace,  loi. 

Of  mete  and  drynke  he  gan  her  pray,  206. 
Of  thy  garlond  wondyr  I  haue,  263. 
2  W.  meke  of  maners,  35.  ^  Cf.  scriicd  with  fysshe,  491.14. 


PREPOSITIONS.  •  119 

hem  of  the  round  table,  720.32.  This  last  seems  either  a 
misprint  or  a  Gallicism.  In  fact,  this  construction  is  quite 
possibly  kept  alive  by  French  influence. 

12.  (^-phrases  corresponding  to  the  genitive  of  material 
(source),  'accompaniment,'  'characteristic,'  etc.:  made  a 
kechym  knaue  of  hym,  252.25;  gartiysshed  of  leiies,  641.28;  be 
ye  of  good  chere,  255.12. 

13.  (9/-phrases  corresponding  to  the  genitive  of  measure  : 
two  flagans  —  they  ar  of  tjuo  galo/is,  234.7  ;  a  /aire  dou-^ter 
of  xviij  yere  of  age,  231.13. 

14.  Of  with  verbs.      See  also  4  and  9. 

(a)  Of  is  used  partitively  after  verbs  of  serving,  supply- 
ing, etc.  (11). 

(b)  Of  is  used  with  many  derivatives  from  French  verbs 
followed  by  de:  /  medle  not  of  their  maters,  512.29  (se  mesler 
de,  Cotgrave');  sir  Ma  dor  appeled  the  queue  of  the  dethe  of  his 
cosyn,  729.16. 

(c)  Of  occurs  frequently  after  impersonal  verbs :  vie 
forthy?iketh  of  the  dethe  of  your  dough ter,   713.23. 

339.    on. 

1.  on  is  adverbial  in  the  combination  sought  on,  which 
seems  to  have  about  the  force  of  G.  versuchen,  'to  tempt': 
he  is  — ful  hthe  to  fyghte  with  ony  man,  but  yf  he  be  sore 
sou^t  on,  115.35;  ^17*  Alordred  sought  on  queue  Guenever  — 
for  to  haue  hir  to  eome  oute,  S40.14. 

2.  on  is  used  in  senses  proper  to  of. 

(a)  'concerning,'  'about,'  etc.:  thynke  on  loye,  692.29; 
he  sayth  wronge  on  me,  210.14;  ^^'^  seith  not  ryght  on  me, 
138.25  (cf.  mod.  E.  'tell  on  me');  all  jnen  wondred  on  hym, 
272.4;  that  was  tuel  preued  on  many,  183.7'  (i-  ^-i  ^^  the 
case  of  many). 

1  "  I  am  glad  ^«'t."  —////.  Caes.,  I.  3,  137.     Cf.  Abbott,  iSi,  1S2. 


120  PREFOSITIOA'S. 

(b)  '  on  account  of  ' :  /  am  smytcn  I'pon  tJioId  woujide  — 
on  the  whiche  IfcJe  wcl  I  tnusf  dyc^  841.34. 

3.  On  is  used  in  phrases  of  charge  and  asseveration:  on 
my  lyf,  187.18;  on  t/iy  knyg/ithodc,  205.27. 

4.  On  is  used  of  opposition  ('  against  ')  :  hyd  sycge  on  f/ie 
castcl,  64.8;  lie  rode  on  kyng  Ncntres,  54.13;  on  Jiyni  kuyghtes 
wylle  be  bolde,  201.31. 

5.  On  is  used  in  senses  proper  to  several  other  preposi- 
tions. 

(a)  'over':  tary  on  the  foote  men,  60.3;  regned  on  vs, 
161.27. 

(b)  '  in  ' :  wherfor  troiuest  tlunv  more  on  thy  hartieis  than 
in  thy  maker,  710.18. 

(c)  'to':  cryed  o\\  syre  lanncchd,  19S.25. 

6.  Among  the  set  phrases  are  on  hand,  on  e7ien  handes  (of 
a  "drawn"  battle),  on  my  costes  ('at  my  expense'),  on  a  daye 
('on  a  certain  day'),  on  a  tvfne  ('once  upon  a  time'). 

340.   Adverbial  phrases  with  o«  and  a. 

With  regard  to  these  phrases  in  Shakspere,  Abbott  re- 
marks :  "  In  these  adverbs  the  a-  represents  some  preposi- 
tion, as  'in,'  'on,'  'of,'  &:c.,  contracted  by  rapidity  of 
pronunciation,"  Abbott,  24.  The  actual  transition,  and  the 
exact  form  of  the  earlier  and  later  stages  of  most  of  these 

1  "  lest  more  mischance  on  plots  and  errors  happen." 

—  I  [am.,  V.  2,  406. 

"  She's  wandering  to  the  tower 
On  pure  heart's  love  to  greet  the  tender  princes." 

—  Ricti.  in,  IV.  I,  4  {Abbott). 

On  seems  to  mean  '  from '  in  the  following :  yonder  is  a  fay  re 
shadowe.  Ttiere  maye  we  reste  vs  on  cure  tiorses,  183.28  (whereat  they 
immediately  got  off  their  horses  to  rest).  There  are  no  parallel  cases; 
but  cf.  354,  3,  d. 


PREPOSITIONS.  121 

common   phrases,  is  abundantly   exemplified   in   the  Morte 
d' Arthur}     Thus  we  have  the  parallel  forms: 

aback  —  on  bak. 

on  fflotc. 


a  footc        .         J  ■     r    ^ 
(  on  /lis  joote. 

a  fore  —  on  fore. 

a  loiiile  —  on  loude. 

a  lytie  —  on  lyue. 

a  parte  —  on  parte. 

a  slepe  —  on  slepe. 

a  sondre  —  ///  sondre. 

a  tivo  —  ///  tivo. 

Furthermore  we  find  on  lofte  ('aloft'),  on  syde  ('aside'),  on 
blood  {/lis  nose  braste  oiite  on  blood,  192.4),  and  on  day  (cf. 
now  adayes,  771.28):  on  day  ('at  daybreak 'j  ca7n  Alerlyn, 
37.20. 

(a)  The  base  in  each  of  these  cases  is,  as  Mr.  Abbott 
suggests,  either  a  noun  or  an  adjective  used  as  a  noun. 
Thus  the  same  construction  appears  in  :  grete  Iiistes  dooti 
a  He  a  crystemassc  (Caxton's  Rubric,  31.20);  they  —  helde 
landes  of  arthur  a  this  half  the  see,  499.25;  he  icold  ryde  on 
pylgremage,  166.35.  Here  also  belongs  probably  the  com- 
mon phrase  that  day  a  twelue  nioneth  (i.  e.,  that  day  in  twelve 
months),  253.10,  which  usually  omits  the  a :  this  day  tiveliie 
moneth,  214.2.     Cf.  §  334,  6. 

(b)  Such  phrases,  when  formed  with  verbal  nouns,  gave 
rise  to  the  later  forms  (a-hunting,  a-fishing,  etc.),  and  subse- 
quently to  the  anomalous  modern  forms  with  verbs  (a-float, 
a-swim,  etc.).  The  Morte  d' Arthur  shows  on  slufnberyfige, 
on  bledynge,  on  huntyng,  on  mayeng,  etc.  The  corresponding 
forms  with  a  are  rare  {a  doyng,  84.13,  389.7). 

1  It  is  not  to  be  assumed,  however,  in  every  case  that  the  form  with 
on  is  earlier  than  the  form  with  (7. 


122  PREPOSITIONS. 

(c)  The  confusion  of  this  prepositional  a-  with  the  inten- 
sive a-  from  A.  S.  of-,  which  is  noted  by  Abbott  (24. 3), 
appears  rarely:  the  queue  7c>as  an  a/igred,  737.23  (cf.  an 
hungered,  S.  Matt.,  xxv.  44). 

341.  only  ('  except  ' )  is  rare  :  t/wfe  were  all  the  kuyghtes 
of  the  round  table  only  tho  that  ivere  prysoners  or  slayn, 
213.1,9. 

342.  or  ('ere'):  never  or  this  tyme,  225.15. 

343.  oute  of  occurs  in  the  sense  of  '  beyond ' :  good 
('goods')  oute  of  noml're,  16S.2S;  they  be  oute  of  7ioribre 
('numberless'),  179.7;  g^'t-'te  strohes  oute  oi  a/ n/es/^re,  172.22. 

344.  ouerthwart(e)  is  (a)  adjective:  ye  are — passyng 
Guerthwarte  of  your  tonge,  359.25;  (b)  noun:  at  an  ouer- 
thwart,  239.14;  (c)  adverb:  hpte  upon  Jiym  ouerthioart, 
230.33;  (d)  preposition:  /ayd  the  naked  sicerd  ouerthwart 
bothe  their  th rotes,    151. 13. 

I .    thicart  occurs  (rarely)  :  smote  Arthur  thwart  the  vysage, 

I73-37- 

345.  sauf,  sa!u\-  armed  a/  sauf  the  hedes,  199.2.  sauyng 
to  occurs  at  iiG.-j:  7c<ithoute  ony  man  sauyng  to  a  page. 

345.  syn':  syn  the  dethe  of  kyng  Vther,  44.6.  The  ad- 
verbial forms  are  sythen,  sythe,  and  syn. 

347.  thorou  {thorowe,  thurgh,  thorou  oute,  thurgh  oute, 
thorugh  oute)  has  the  ordinary  local  and  temporal  uses,  and 
the  common  meaning  'by  means  of.'  At  1 16.10  it  seems  to 
mean  '  on  account  of '  (result) :  7ny7i  arme  is  oute  of  lythc 
wher  thorow  /  j)iust  luuies  reste  me. 

348.  to. 

I.  To  shows  occasionally  its  original  adverbial  force:  or 
('ere  ')  //  be  long  to,  152.5. 

1  \V.  syth :  syth  yesterdaye,  257  ;  Sytli  the  tyme  I  sawe  you  last,  428. 


PREPOSITIONS.  123 

2.  Local,  in  senses  since  supplied  by  other  prepositions: 
leid — a  saliie  to  hym,  255.15;  stroke  ('struck')  to  the  other 
two  bretheren,  203.1 1 ;  put  the  poniels  of  tJieire  swerdes  to  the 
knyght,  155.7. 

3.  Temporal,  in  the  common  phrases  to  iiyght,  to  fiioro7oe, 
to  morne,  and  in  :  two  moncthcs  was  to  the  daye  that  the  turne- 
tnent  shold  be,  256.6. 

4.  To  is  used  of  extent,  limit,  etc. 

(a)  literally:  to  the  7nountenanee  of  an  houre,  217.33;  a 
eoronal  of  gold  besette  witJi  stones  of  7'ertue  to  the  value  of  a 
thousand  pound,  254.30;  your  bounte  and  hyhencs  may  no  man 
preyse  half  to  the  valetue,  78.33;   to  the  somme  of  XXX,  65.26. 

(b)  metaphorically:  to  my  power,  94.29  (i.e.,  to  the  best 
of  my  ability);  to  my  wetynge,  691. 38  (i.  e.,  to  my  knowledge, 
so  far  as  I  know);  slayne —  to  my  dethe,  520.1 1. 

5.  Hence  to  is  used  in  phrases  of  comparison:  there 
myghte  none  east  bar  re  nor  stone  to  // rw  by  two  yerdys,  215.25; 
these  ben  but  Japes  to  that  ('what')  he  shalle  doo,  113. 12. 

6.  The  ancient  to  of  purpose,  as  with  the  inhnitive, 
appears  in  phrases  where  to  has  the  sense  of  'for,'  'as': 
whyehe  thou  ivylt  haue  to  thy  peramour,  187.9;  •*"^''''  fi^^dde  a 
passyng  fair  old  knyght  to  her  husband,  112.28  (cf.  the  sur- 
viving 'take  to  wife');  /  sende  her  hym  to  a  presente  (cf. 
mod.  E.  'to  boot'),  135.25.      Cf.  to  thys  entent,  232.17. 

7.  To  \s  used  with  pronouns  and  names  of  persons  some- 
what like  at  (§  324,  2):  goo  in  to  another,  714.3  (i.e.,  to 
another  man's  castle). 

8.  To  occurs  in  various  senses  since  supplied  by  other 
prepositions. 

(a)  'for':  al  —  shall  be  to  your  7O0rship,  250.3;  and  the 
kynge  ■ — made  grete  prouysyon  to  that  tunwment,  255.4;  make 
a  eouerynge  to  the  shyp,  698.13;  make  neive  gyrdels  to  the 
suerd,  699.23;  to  his  helpe  I  jcylle  doo  niy  pozver,  206.3; 
made  hym  redy  to  that  turneinent,  258.6.      Cf.  6. 


124  PREPOSITIONS. 

(b)  'according  to":  7voyshyppcd  to  his  ryghtc,  719.38. 
The  idea  of  limit,  of  the  point  up  to  which,  may  be  latent 
here.     Cf.  4. 

(c)  *  into  " :  fclle  to  grete  goodncsse,  211.24. 

(d)  Obeyed  to,  162.33,  is  probably  after  the  analogy  of 
'  obedient  to.' 

(e)  To  of  direction  is  used  of  feeling,  much  like  '  toward ' : 
a preuy  hate  —  to  syr  launcelot,  797.13.      Cf.  §  352.4. 

9.  Furthermore,  to  is  used  in  the  sense  of  '  against ' :  warre 
maad\.o  kyng  Arthur  (Caxton's  Rubric),  4.26;  I  shallc  7}iake 
warre  to  the,  817.6;  yf  euer  I trcspaeed \o  them,  563.18.  Here 
seems  to  belong  the  following  also  :  the  cowardyse  that  is 
named  to  the  knyi^tes  of  Cornewaile,  374.6.' 

349.  tofore  (cf.  a/on\  before).  The  adverb  has  also  the 
form  to  for/ie. 

350.  toward  (see  -ward,  §  52,  f)  occurs  as  an  adverb :  he 
rode — I'othe  toiaardaudfroivard,  634.21. 

2.  Toward  has  occasional  tmesis:  to  the  zvorld  ward, 
720.19;   to  me  ward,  294.26. 

3.  Tozvard  occurs  in  the  sense  of  '  for,'  '  on  behalf  of  ':  / 
shalle  ensure  the  neuer  to  werre  a  gey  Ji  si  thy  lady  but  be  ahvey 
toward  her,  675.33. 

351.  tyl,  tylle  is  used  not  only  of  tyme,  but  also  (rarely) 
of  place:  ledde  hym  tyl  a  caue,  716.24;  teyed  his  hors  til  a 
tree,  380.9   (cf.   I'lityi). 

352.  vnto. 

I.    local :  ^ 

(a)  '  as  far  as  ' :  the  kyng  of  Brctayn  and  all  the  lordshippes 
vnto  Ko7ne,  273.15. 

1  W.  shows  a  use  of  to  not  paralleled  in  the  Morte  d'Artlncr:  therto 
hadde  sche  nede,  504. 

2  V)ito  appears  once  in  W.  as  an  adverb:  Howe  cam  thys  vn-to?  549. 


PREPOSITIONS.  125 

(b)  '  on ' :  there  2uas  wrytcii  vnto  the  tombe  that  Queue 
Gueneuer,  etc.,  738.3. 

(c)  'at':  the fygge  tree  \nio  Iheriisaletn,  G^i. 2,0. 

(d)  'toward,'  'at':  sjiwte  a  sore  stroke  vnto  syr  Raynold, 
203.10  (so  to,  cf.  3). 

2.  temporal,  in  the  conjunctive  phrase  vnto  the  tyme  that. 

3.  in  many  of  the  uses  of  to  (q.  v.)  'for':  redy  vnto 
bataylle,  206.18;  'for,'  'as':  Jiath  —  noble  knyghtes  vnto  his 
kynne,  2)^^  .Z2> ;  '  i"  comparison  with  ' :  /yke  to  conquere  alle  the 
world ;  for  vnto  his  courage  it  is  to  lytel,  163.10;  syr  Persant 
is  no  thyjig  of  my^te  —  vnto  the  knyghte  that,  etc.,  229.15. 

So  also,  strake  one  vnto  the  dethe,  219.21;  trust  vnto  jny 
promyse,  246.29;  obeye  now  vnto  hym,  245.19  (cf.  §  348.8,  d); 
and  he  resembled  ?noche  vnto  sire  laiincclot,  617.6. 

4.  In  like  manner  vnto  is  used  to  denote  the  direction  of 
feeling,  much  like  '  toward  ' :  syre  Tristram  had  no  loye  of 
her  letters  nor  ngard  vnto  her,  279.34;  if  there  be  ony  man 
that  I  ha  lie  offended  vnto,  292.19;  they  alle  had  siispecyon 
vnto  Jier,  729.6;  sir  mordred  had — a  preiiy  hate  vnto  the 
Quene,  797.12  (cf.  §  34S.8,  &).^ 

353.  vntyl  is  local  as  well  as  temporal,  and  the  local 
use  is  more  frequent  than  that  of  tyl :  vntyl  his  owne  hors, 
188.21;  vn  tyl  an  ertnyte,  72.30;   ranne  vntyl  hym,  847.7.' 

354.  vpon. 

1.  Chaucer's  vp  occurs,  but  very  rarely:  as  I  rode  vp  myji 
aduentures,  414.30;  sire percyiial  tooke  the  knyghtes  hors  and 
made  sire percydes  to  motmte  vp  hyjn,  589.37. 

2.  Vpon  temporal  occurs  in  the  phrases  vpon  that  Qthere- 
upon'),  620.1,  and  7pon  a  day  ('once  upon  a  time'),  693.13. 

1  Vnto  means  '  in,'  '  with  regard  to.'  in :  fortiDiatc  vnto  the  iverrys, 
198.9;  and  '  of,'  '  at  the  hands  of,'  in  :  /  haiie  yll  deserued  it  vnto  hym, 
86.22. 

2  Cf.  W.    The  lady  spake  the  wyfe  vn-lyllc,  583. 


126  PREPOSITIONS. 

3.  Vpon  is  used  in  many  senses  of  on:  vpon  her  party 
('on  her  side'),  257.14;  to  doo  suche  cost  vpon  /n'w,  214.22; 
7'euengyd  vpon  hym^  846.32;  especially  in  the  following 
senses: 

(a)  in  the  sense  of  opposition :  dyd  ffiany  batayllcs  vpon 
the  ?>iyscreantes,  860.38;  landed  vpon  f/icfn,  842.33;  hys 
enemycs  Vsurpped  vpon  hym  and  dyd  a  grctc  bataylle  vpon  his 
men,  39.12.^ 

(b)  in  phrases  of  charge  and  asseveration:  ipon payne  of 
dethc,  202.29;  7pon  my  pcryl,  216.22;  ipon  his  blessynge, 
231.15;   vpon  pay nc  of  myn  hcde,  339.37.- 

(c)  in  the  sense  of  '  concerning  ' :  7oeI  by^varyd  vpon  hym, 
246.18;  .nv  Beaumayns  bethoughtc  hym  vpon  tJic  knyghtes, 
239.31;  wondre  yc  not  soo  vpon  sire  Pa/omydcs,  544.6.  In 
the  following  7pon  may  mean  either  '  concerning '  or  '  directed 
toward ' :  the  noyse  ('  outcry ')  shali  be  hfte  that  is  now  vpon 
hytn,  544.1 1.^ 

(d)  Cf.  also  the  following :  his  7i':>//ndes  rcncivcd  vpon 
bledynge,  790.22;  he  trusteth  —  vpon  his  handes,  809.9;  ^^'"^^ 
saist  hit  vpon  pryde  of  that  good  knyghte  that  is  there  tuith  the, 
379.15;   a  noble  siverd  that  —  syre  Gryngamors  fader  7oanne 

1  "  But  did  itsurpe  with  wrong  and  tyrannic 

Upon  the  sceptre  which  she  now  did  hold." 

—  Faerie  Queene,  I,  4.  12. 

2  "  And  Arcite  is  exyled  2ipo/t  his  heed." 

—  C.  T.,  1344- (-■^)- 

"  Namore,  up  peyne  of  lesing  of  your  heed." 

-C.  T.,  1707.  (^). 
3  Vpon  means  '  to  the  decision  of '  in  tlie  following :   tete  vs  put  it 
bothe  vpon  hym,  146.19.     This  may  be  a  metaphorical  application  of  the 
preposition.     The  mod.  E.  phrase  is  "  I  put  it  to  you." 

The  phrase  bcsy  vpon,  in  Caxton's  Rubric,  seems  to  have  the  idea  of 
insistence  conveyed  in  the  mod.  E.  phrase  "  kept  at  him  ":  syr  Agratcayn 
and  syr  mordred  were  besy  vpon  syr  Gazvayn  for  to  disclose,  etc.,  32.23 
(i.  e.,  were  urging  him  to  disclose). 


PREPOSITIONS.  127 

vpon  (T/i  hetlien  Tyraujit,   25S.5    (see   §  339.2,   b,  foot-note; 
and  lotige  on,   §  335). 

355.   with. 

1.  With  is  temporal  in  certain  set  phrases:  wyth  that., 
7vith  these  7vordes,  forthe  with  al,  ryght  thcr  tuith  a/,  anone 
with  al,  etc.  The  underlying  idea  of  accompaniment  is 
plain. 

2.  JVith  of  instrument  needs'  no  exemplification.  There 
seems,  however,  to  be  an  extension  of  this  use  to  the  idea 
of  means  in  Caxton's  Rubric,  22.16  :  IIo^u  syr  Dynadan  mctte 
7c>ith  syr  Trystnwi,  and  wyth  lustyng  7uyth  syr  Palaniydes  syr 
Dynadan  knewc  hym} 

3.  With  is  used  of  agency :  oncrcome  with  a  syniplyer 
knyghte,  198.10;  distressid — with  a  fats  knyghte,  193.9; 
tempted —  with  afende,  695.5;  h'-^'^'.S'^'d  with  a  tyraunte,  2 1 5.38 ; 
best  byloiied  with  tliis  lady,  260.29;  '^^'^'^  with  wy/de  beesfes, 
652.27;  bitrayed  W\X\\  his  wyf,  793.16;  a  valeye  closed  with  a 
rennynge  zvater,  690.27  (of  inanimate  agency). 

4.  Thus  with  inanimate  or  abstract  things  with  is  some- 
times used  to  denote  the  cause :  there  with  the  kynge  was 
angry,   69 8. S. 

5.  With  of  accompaniment  appears  in  various  connections, 
literal  and  metaphorical  :  that  nyght  7L'ere  the  thre  felawes 
easyd  with  ilie  best,  705.31;  leie  in  with  torehe  lyghte,  153.26; 
lytic  with  fastyng,  850.24;  snehe  shame  I  had  with  tJie  thre 
bretheren,  702.5  ('among'  the  brethren,  or  possibly  'from'); 
he  was  hclyd  hard  with  the  lyf,  2  18.30;  And yf  I  tnyght  with 
7ny  worship,  I  wold  not  haiie  a  doo  with  yo7o,  202.37.  So  in 
the  common  phrases  with  wronge  ('wrongfully'),  marye  with, 
and  probably  match  ivith,  though  the  idea  here  may  be 
rather  'pit  against.'  Cf.  also:  what  wold  ye  with  the  best 
('beast'),  65.37;  he  asked — what  tydynges  were  with  hem, 
462.16. 

1  W.    My  lyf e  ther-^cr///  ('thereby')  to  lede,  507. 


128  COXJUNCTIOXS. 

6.  With  in  the  sense  of  against  (O.  E.  wip)  needs  no 
exemplification. 

7.  With  occurs  rarely  in  the  sense  of  by  in  charges  :  ye 
charge  me  with  a  grete  thynge  (i.  e.,  his  knightly  faith),  298.18. 

8.  In  anastrophe  the  adverbial  form  withal  is  used :  the 
byggcst  man  that  euer  I  mette  with  ai,  194.16;  fpo/i  them  thai 
I  had  adoo  with  al,  229.33;  thou  shalt  anoiie  be  met  with  al, 
219.12. 

9.  With  has  conditional  force  in  the  conjunctive  phrase 
with  that  (see  §  398),  but  the  base  idea  is  accompaniment. 

356.    within. 

1.  Within  temporal  is  most  common  in  the  phrase  within 
a  whyle. 

2.  Ellipsis  of  something  implied  seems  to  explain  the  use 
of  within  with  personal  pronouns  and  nouns  of  person :  the 
whyche  cyte  ivas  within  kynge  Vryens,  64.2  (i.  e.,  within  the 
domain  of).  Other  cases  show  a  close  likeness  to  the  F. 
use  of  chez :  the  same  knyght  was  within  hym  ('within  his 
house  '),  399.25  (cf.  §§  324.2,  348.7);  ones  I  had  syr  Gazvaytie 
within  me,  207.12  ('within  my  power'?);  soo  shal  I  come 
withynne  her  to  cause  her  to  cherysshe  ??ie,  1 49.1 8  ('into  her 
favour'?). 


CONJUNCTIONS. 


357.  also,    in    addition    to    its    frequent    use   with   and, 
occurs  frequently  as  an  introductory  conjunction. 

358.  and. 

1.  simple  copulative  {passim). 

2.  So  loose  is  the  coordination  at  times  that  the  and  is 
practically  expletive:    In  the  name  of  Ihesu  Cryste,  2ind/>raye 


CONJUNCTIOXS.  129 

you  that  ye  gyrd  yotc,  etc.,  700.6;  goo  ye  hens  where  ye  hope 
best  to  doo  and  as  I  bad  yow,  720.24. 

3.  conditional  {passim):  and  ye  wylle  be  reiilyd  by  me,  I 
shal  help  you,  1 8 7 . 2  4. 

359.    as. 

1.  The  simple  modal  use  {as  7ve  deftted,  199.20)  is  com- 
mon in  phrases  of  asseveration :  as  I  am  true  knyghte, 
188.17;  sometimes  with  the  added  idea  of  proportion:  as 
ye  wylle  haue  my  helpe,  lete  me  alone  zvith  hem,  200.26. 

(a)  as  that  ^  is  used  (rarely)  in  the  same  sense :  she 
praide  me  as  that  /  loued  her  hertely  that  I  wold  make,  etc., 
240.2. 

2.  modal,  as  —  as  {passim).  The  disjunction  is  often 
loose.     Thus : 

(a)  the  former  as  is  often  omitted :  spored  their  horses 
myghtely  as  the  horses  nty-ife  renne,  60.33. 

3.  modal,  sHche  {so)  —  as  {passim). 

(a)  latter  as  omitted :  thoiv  arte  not  so  old  of  yeres  to 
knozve  my  fader,  66.29;  in  suche  a  plyte  to  gete  my  soule  hele, 
854.14.  This  ellipsis  occurs  quite  regularly  before  an  infin- 
itive.    Cf.  §§  249,  385.4. 

4.  The  same  modal  idea  is  expressed  by  lyke  as:  lyke  as 
he  dyd  yerly,  215.29. 

5.  Of  condition  contrary  to  fact  ('as  if):  it  ferd  under 
hyni  as  the  erthe  had  quaked,  206.27;  laye  as  he  had  ben  dede, 
248.14. 

(a)  as  though  is  used  in  the  same  sense :  she  souned  as 
though  she  wold  dye,  209.30;  he  ferd  as  though  he  myght  not 
goo,  213.27.     As yf  does  not  occur. 

(b)  lyke  as  is  used,  more  rarely,  in  the  same  sense :  lie 
unlaced  his  helme  lyke  as  he  wold  slee  hym,  224.12;  lay  there 
— -lyke  as  she  had  ben  dede,  268.15. 

1  For  all  compound  conjunctive  forms  made  with  the  relative  that  cf. 
also  §  3.S8.4. 


130  COXJUNCTIONS. 

6.  temporal. 

(a)  'when,'  'while":  as  these  queues  loked — they  knezae, 
etc.,   186.10;  as  he  paste  />eyonde,   208.9. 

(b)  '  when,'  '  after  ':  as  he  had  rydeu  hmg —  he  metfe,  etc., 
184.28. 

7.  causal:  l>y  eausc  we  midersta/ide  —  and  as  we  ktiowe 
we!,  etc.,  187.2;  as  I  here  say  that  the  ti(rne77ient  shal  he  here 
■ — ye  shal  sende  unto  me  thre  knyghtes,  190.32. 

8.  As  is  added  to  demonstratives  to  make  relatives  :  that 
as  ('what'),  there  as  ('where ').  Similarly  as  is  added  to  the 
interrogative  whether^  to  make  a  relative :  /  take  no  foree, 
hut  whether  as  hytn  lyst  hyni  self,  230.15  (i.  e.,  whichever 
he  likes).     Cf.  §§  64,  b  ;  69. 

(a)  The  relative  force  of  as  appears  in  the  construction 
with  saftie,  etc.:  that  same  day  as  he  departed,  253.21. 

9.  As  is  expletive  in  many  common  phrases: 

(a)  in  the  iAvciiYvAX  as  for :  as  for  syr  kay,  we  ehaeed  hym 
kyder,  200.35;  <^^^  f'f  w_v  ladyes  name,  that  shall  not  ye  knowe, 
216.5. 

(b)  in  other  cases  of  kindred  meaning:  as  touchynge  syre 
Gawayn,  215.13;  And  as  I'nto  syr  Lyoncl  and  Ector  de  marys 
he  prayeth  yow  to  ahyde  hytn,  196.21;  they  had  not  their 
ententes  Jieyther  with  other  as  /;/  her  delytes,  247.26;  for  as  hy 
cure  aduys  the  kynge  shal  sende,  etc.,  254.4;  she  had  holpen 
hem  as  /;/  straunge  aduentures,  706.25. 

(c)  in  expressions  of  time,  like  Chaucer's  as  nowthe  and 
mod.  E.  as  5^et:  as  yet  thou  shall  not  haue,  etc.,  242.4;  for 
as  at  this  fytne  I  nuist  ryde,  196.9;  a  lie  inane  r  of  straunge 
aduentures  eame  hefore  Arthur  as  at  that  fees t,  213.10;  fyghte 
as  to  7)iorne  with  syre  Mordred,  844.27. 

360.   bothe  —  and. 

The  following  common  cases  show  an  irregular  correla- 
tion in  which  hothe  is  used  much  like  'besides,'  'also': 
whan  the  mayde  was  horsed  and  he  hothe,   691.  i;    v7ito  my 


CONJUNCTIONS.  131 

grete  dominage  and  his  bot/ie,  134.9;  /  at>i  sore  hurtc  a/id  he 
hot  he,  134.10;  senile  his  woundcs  and  Accolons  bothe,  135.19. 
Other  cases  of  irregular  correlation  are  due  to  the  loose 
sentence  structure :  ye  haue  bothe  saucd  me  and  my  hors, 
195.27. 

361.    but. 

1.  negative  conditional  (' unless ') :  but  syre  launceh')t  helpe 
Its  ive  may  neuer  be  de/yuerd,  185.33;  7C'yble  not  be  ouerjjiatched 
—  but  ji't'  oucnnatchc  hytn,  193.3;  gretely  my  consayic  fayleth 
Die,  but  thou  shalt preiie  a  ??ian  of  ryghte  grete  worship,  2  14. 11 
(i.  e.,  if  —  not);  )to  kuyght  founde  suche  tokens  but  he  zvere  a 
good  ly  Iter,  124.37;  ^^'^  '^  "^^  reson  to  fyghte  7oith  me  but  /telle 
you  fny  natne,  505.16.^ 

(a)  but  yf  is  used  frequently  in  the  same  sense :  ryde  not 
after  syr  Gryjigamor  but  yf  ye  oice  hytn  good  wil/e,  244.8; 
and  but  yf  /  come  ageyn  wythi)i  xv  dayes,  than  take  your 
shyppes — o^  departe,  853.30. 

(b)  but  so  that,  in  the  following:  /  will  not  take  your 
yeldyng  vnto  7ne,  but  so  that  ye  wylle  yelde  you  vnto  syr  kay, 
200.32,  may  mean  unless,  but  it  is  probably  best  explained 
as  meaning  'except  on  condition  that,'  with  but  as  a  prepo- 
sition and  so  used  in  its  conditional  sense  (see  so). 

2.  negative  relative,  after  a  negative  main  clause:  I  haue 
no  thynge  do  but  I  wille  auowe,  250.2. 

(a)  Usually,  however,  a  pronoun  subject  or  object  ap- 
pears in  the  relative  clause :  ther  is  no  knyght  lyuynge  but 
I  am  able  ynough  for  hym,  230.10;  he  fond  no  gate  nor  dore 
but  it  was  open,  7  10.27  ;  lf'i^''<^  "^^'(^^  ;/(W/t'  of  these  other  knyghtes 
but  they  redde  in  bookes,  856.20. 

^  W.    That  he  no  where  myght  owte  wynne 
But  helpe  to  hym  were  brought,  194. 
Mete  ne  drynke  ne  getyst  thou  none 
Butt  thou  wylt  swete  or  swynke,  212. 


132  COXJUNCTIONS. 

(b)  The  following  cases  seem  to  be  extensions  of  the 
foregoing  construction,  though  the  idea  of  result  is  sug- 
gested :  Mcrlyi!  Ictc  ))iake  tJicrc  a  bcddc,  iliat  titer  shold  iieiier 
man  lye  t/icriii  but  //('  we/i/e  oi/tc  of  Jiis  ii.<yttt\  99.2;    TJiiis  7c>as 

he  S7iU'rd  preuetl  tJiat  No/ie  iie  (Ireice  it  but  /le  jcere  dede  or 
mayfned,  693.32  (' without  going  mad,'  '  without  being  killed 
or  wounded').  That  this  construction  was  confused  with 
the  conditional,  appears  in  the  following:  t/ier  shalle  neiier 
no)ie  sytte  in  that  syege  hut  one  but  yf  he  be  destroyed,  571.11. 

(c)  The  but  is  omitted  at  704.33  :  the?-e  7C'as  none  that 
sa7c>  hym  they  ivend  he  had  ben  none  erthely  man. 

3.  in  negative  clauses  of  result,  after  a  negative  main 
clause  with  so,  suehe,  etc. :  not  soo  Jiardy  —  but  thou  saue 
hym,  227.15;  lliis  couneeil  was  not  soo  pryuely  kepte  but  // 
was  understande,  247.19;  /  truste  —  wiv/  eure  ('luck')  is  ind 
suchc  but  sotne  of  them  may  sore  repente  thys,  59.7;  there  7vas 
neuer  so  harde  an  herted  man  but  lie  wold  haue  ivepte,  855.16; 
/  wille  not  be  soo  moeJie  a  coward  but  site  shalle  7'uderstande, 
etc.,  800.12. 

(a)  An  extension  of  this  construction  appears  in  the 
following :  there  is  neyther  kynge  queue  ne  kuyght  —  excepte 
my  lord  —  atid  yo7U  juadame  shold  lette  )ne  but  /  shold  make 
sir  Mellyagraunee  herte  ful  cold,  780.3;  //  is  fallen  so  —  that 
I  may  not  loith  mv  7c<orshyp  but  the  queue  must  suffer  the 
dethe,   808.13. 

4.  But  has  the  force  of  than  after  a  comparative  with  a 
preceding  negative  :  Is  not  hyng  Arthur  your  uncle  no  ferther 
but  your  moders  broder,  839.33;  Jionc  other  lyf  but  7varre 
and  stryffe,  840.23.  The  commonest  collocations  are  as 
follows: 

(a)  )ui  more  but:  I  70  ill  a  she  no  more  —  but  that  ye  7i'/7/(f, 
etc.,  42.29;   }U)  more  but  one,  228.36. 

(b)  not  sooner  but :  they  had  not  sooner  sayd  that  7vord  but 
there  cam  four  knyghtes,  108.5. 


CONJUNCTIONS.  133 

(c)  The  following  passages  are  probably  to  be  explained 
as  extensions  of  this  usage  :  Jic  liad  not  ryden  but  a  whyle 
but  the  kuyg/ite  badde,  etc.,  210.24;  they  7vere  not  in  this  land 
four  dayes  but  there  came  a  crye  of  a  lustes,  498.22  ;  I  fynde 
7ieuer  more  —  of  the  veray  ccrtcnte  of  his  deth  but  ('than  that') 
thus  was  he  ledde  aivcye.  851.1. 

5.  But  is  used  to  introduce  an  object  clause  after  the 
verbe  doubte  in  a  negative  main  clause :  doubte  not  but  the 
vengeaunee  wil  falle,  94.20;  doubte  ye  not  but  /  7C'ine  be  with 
yaw,  600.1 1. 

(a)  But  that  appears  (rarely)  in  the  same  construction : 
I  wold  not  doubte  but  that  ye  wold  rcscowe  me,  Soi.G. 

(b)  Sometimes  the  object  clause  appears  without  intro- 
ductory particle  :    doubte  not  thow  sha/t  haue,  etc.,  108.10. 

6.  Simple  adversative  (passim).  The  construction  in 
the  following  may,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  transitional  : 
There  nys  none  other  remedye  said  Mer/yn  but  god  wil  haue 
his  iciit/e,  39.29. 

362.  but  that  (rare). 

1.  negative  conditional  (cf.  /'///,  i):  //  7ue?'e  grete  shame 
unto  myn  estate  but  that  he  7uere  myghtely  loithstand,  76.5. 

2.  negative  result  (cf.  but,  3):  ye  shalle  not  go  fcr  with 
her  but  that  ye  shalh'  be  mette  and  greued,  i  10.35. 

3.  to  introduce  a  negative  object  clause,  after  a  negative 
main  clause:  soo  subtylly  made  that  noo  man  perceyue  it  but 
that  they  be  al  one,  697.35;  /  may  neuer  byleue  but  that  thou 
wylt  tome  to  the  world  ageyn,  854.35.'     Cf.  §  361.5. 

363.  but  yf.      See  but,  i,  a. 

364.  by  cause  is  primarily  an  adverbial  phrase.  Its 
conjunctive  use  arises,  as  in  other  cases,  from  the  construc- 

'  The  irregular  construction  at  192.10  is  probably  due  to  some 
transposition  in  printing :  there  -vas  none  but  that  he  liyt  surely  he  bare 
none  amies  that  day.     Wynkyn  de  Worde  has  he  was  hyt. 


134  CONJUNCTIOXS. 

tion  with  a  ///(//-clause  modifying  the  noun  cause.  Thus  bv 
cause  that  in  Chaucer  and  in  Malory  is  equivalent  to  'for 
the  reason  that."  This  is  the  second  stage  ;  the  third  is  the 
dropping  of  the  that} 

1 .  subordinate  causal  :  by  cause  7i.ie  understande  your  ivor- 
thynes,  i  S  y .  i . 

2.  For  by  cause  is  sometimes  used  in  the  same  sense:  for 
by  cause  J  hue — wv  cosyn,  210.14;  for  by  cause  he  rydeth 
ic'ith  fiie,  231.36;  Jor  by  cause  this  Da  mas  is  so  fa  Is,  127.16; 
for  by  cause  J  haue  s/ayne  —  these  k/iyghtes,  S05.20.  This 
is  a  redundancy,  but  it  shows  that  ly  cause  is  not  yet  firmly 
established.  For  occurs  as  a  subordinate  causal  in  Chaucer, 
and  frequentl}-  in  the  Morte  d'' Arthur  (see  §  368,  2). 

3.  By  cause  is  used  sometimes  as  a  final  conjunction  : 
leyd  them  i/i  chestys  of  leed,  by  cause  tJtey  shold  not  chauffe  ?ie 
sauoure,  174.24  (i.e.,  that  they  might  not);  she  wold  haue 
slaytie  T/ystram  by  cause  her  chyldren  shold  reioyce  his  land, 
275.34;  Bagdejuagus  scfife  aioeye  his  soue  —  by  cause  syr 
Launcelot  shold  not  mete  Tcu'th  hy/u,   4S3.5. 

365.  by  that  (rare)  illustrates  the  fact  that  at  this  time 
almost  any  preposition  might  be  used  with  conjunctive  force 
by  the  simple  addition  of  that  (see  §  3S8.4).  As  a  con- 
junction, /'I'  that  means  so  soon  as:  by  that  tlieyr  dryiike  ivas 
in  their  bodyes,  they  loucd  eyther  other,  309.37. 

366.  eyther  —  or. 

The  disjunction  is  frequently  loose:  so  shal  I fynysshe 
it  to  the  ende,  eyther  ('or  else')  I  shal  dye  therfore,  219.10; 
destroye  hym  eyther  els  or  dye  therfor,  80.15.      Cf.  §  3S3. 

367.  ferthermore  is  not  yet  fully  established  as  a  con- 
junction, but  occurs  in  the  combination  and  ferthermore. 

1  For  cause  appears  in  the  same  sense:  lie putte  sir  Bryan — from  his 
latides  for  cause  tie  wold  neuer  he  witJiJiold  7inth  kynge  Artliur,  352.27. 


CONJUNCTIONS.  135 

368.    for. 

1.  co-ordinate  causal  (^passim). 

2 .  subordinate  causal :  7i'/rv  smote  ye  Joiiiic  my  shcld.  For 
/  wil  Juste  with  yo7v  said  gryjlet,  69.20;  for  she  had  no  cofer 
to  kepe  it  in.,  she  put  it  in  the  erthc,  696.16;  for  she  eryed  to 
her  fader  they  slewe  her,  701.36.^  For  the  subordinate  causal 
for  cause  {for  by  cause)  see  §  364,  and  foot-note.  See  also 
for  7vhy,  §  369. 

3.  For  is  sometimes  used  as  a  mere  resumptive,  to  intro- 
duce a  clause.  In  these  cases  it  often  seems  purely  expletive; 
but  some  ellipsis  is  probably  implied,  as  with  the  Greek 
{kol)  yap:  IVhat  /lei/eiue  said  the  kynge  is  the  wyude  in  that 
dore ;  for  luete  ye  wel  J  wold  not —  to  be  eausar  to  ivithdrawe 
your  hertes,  269.20;  Also  there  7C'as  Aynyite  the  chycf  lady  of 
the  lake,  that  had  7vedded  Pelleas  the  good  knyght  and  this  lady 
had  doon  tnoche  for  kyng  Arthur;  for  she  wold  neuer  suffre 
syr  Pelleas  to  be — ///  daunger,  851.7;  /'///  yet  the  he  re  my  te 
kneiue  not  in  certayn  that  he  ('it')  7uas  verayly  the  body  of  kyng 
Arthur ;  for  thys  tale  syr  Bedwcr  —  made  it  to  be  7oryto/i, 
85  1. 15;  lohan  J  am  deed  J praxe  you  all  praye  J'or  my  soulc; 
for  this  book  7oas  ended  the  ix  yere,  etc.,  861. 8;  els  ?ny  so/Je 
wyll  be  in  grete  perylle  and  J  dye  (here  the  speech  ends  and 
the  narrative  is  resumed  as  follows),  for  with  grete  payne  his 
7'arlet  brought  hym  to  the  eastel,  410.1.      Cf.  also  56.15. 

(a)  In  these  cases  y^^r  is  used  much  like  the  introductory 
'now,'  Greek  ovv  ;  and  this,  considering  the  context,  is  doubt- 
less its  force  in  the  two  following  cases,  where  at  first  sight 
it  seems  to  mean  'though'  fcf.  a  somewhat  similar  use  of 

1  Chaucer's  final  Jor  ("Jor  I  shold  the  bet  abreyde,"  //ous  oj  Fame, 
559)  appears  once  :  for  tlie  hcte  shold  tiot  nyhe  hem  — Joiire  knyghtes  — 
bare  a  clothe  oJ grene  sylie,  186.4. 

\V.  hdiS  Jo>-  that  in  this  sense  : 

After  the  wryght  the  lord  lett  sende 

For  ]>at  he  schuld  wyth  hym  lende  ('  stay  '  ?),  106. 


136  COA'/l  W'C  T/OjVS. 

cVet,  as  in  T'/cih?,  Prfltagoras,  335,  c)  :  zuhati  the  knyght  felt 
that  he  ivas  adrad :  for  he  7C'(7s  a  passyiige  l>ygge  man  of 
fnyghte,  and  a  none  he  broughte  Arthur  imder  hym,  72.2;  Noia 

goo   thou    syr  Lncati   sayd  the  kyng  .       So    syr  Litean 

departed ;  for  he  ivas  greiiously  wounded  (the  context  shows 
that  he  could  hardly  walk),   S47.23. 

369.  for  why  is  used  rarely  in  the  sense  of  'because': 
they  coude  not  excuse  the  queue,  for  why  she  7nade  the  dyner, 
730.1 1 ;  The  kyng  7vas  sore  a/>asshed  of  his  aeeusacion,  for  why 
//('  7vas  come  atf  the  sonions  of  kyngc  Arthur,  303.6. 

370.  fro  is  a  temporal  conjunction  at  142.32  (cf.  the 
remarks  on  by  that) :  Syre  Ga7vayne  fro  //  passed  Lx  of  the 
clok  waxed  euer  stronger.  The  intermediate  stage  with  that 
does  not  appear. 

371.  how  is  sometimes  used  after  verbs  of  telling,  etc., 
without  anv  implication  of  manner,  like  simple  that:  the 
porter  7uente  -rnto  the  duchesse  and  told  Iter  how  ther  7vas 
a  knyghte  —  icold  hauc  herberoice,  263.33. 

372.  how  be  it  (rare)  (for  the  subjunctive  be  see  §  215). 

1 .  '  yet  '  (co-ordinate) :  Hoia  be  it  kyng  Constantyn  icold 
haue  had  thetn  wyth  hym,  but  they,  etc.,  860.27. 

2.  'although'  (subordinate,  cases  not  quite  plain):  hozu 
he  it  as  ye  say  that  he  be  no  man  of  worshyp  he  is  a  ful  lykely 
persone,  222.2  ;  not^uithstandyng  I  luille  as  say e  hym  better  hoiv 
be  it  I  am  moost  beholdyng  to  hym  of  ony  erthely  man,  246.2  i. 
Here,  as  in  the  case  of  for,  and  sometimes  of  other  con- 
junctions, the  distinction  between  co-ordination  and  subor- 
dination is  by  no  means  sharp. 

373.  in  as  moche  as,  ///  soo  nun-he  that,  etc.,  and  also  in 
soo  ?noche  (as  omitted,  see  §  359.3,  a).  A  still  further  contrac- 
tion appears  in  the  following :    and  soo  moche  it  lykcd  your 


CONJUNC  TIOXS.  1 3  7 

hyheiics  to  grauntc  me  iny  bom:  —  /  rcquyrc  you  hold  your 
J^romyse,  276.10)  occurs  rarely  and  has  the  force  of  'since  ': 
in  SCO  moche  as  she  shal  be  brenie,  806.21;  ///  soo  mochc  she 
hath  if  for  youre  sake,  806.27. 

374.  I  putte  caas  is  a  conjunctive  phrase  used  (rarely), 
like  Chaucer's  "  I  pose  "  to  introduce  a  condition  :  I  put  caas 
my  f/ame  7oere  syr  laicncelot,  6^  that  it  lyste  me  not  to  discouer 
my  name,  what  shold  it  greue  you  here  to  kepe  my  cou)iceyl, 
600.30;  I  putte  caas  said  sir  Pahnnydes  that  ye  were  armed  — 
and  I  naked —  what  luold ye  doo,  608.17. 

375.  ne. 

1.  ne  as  simple  negative  adverb  is  rare  :^  whos  vyrgynyte 
ne  was  perysshed,  703.10;  he  r\e.  70 as  dede,  707.12  (cf.  §  195). 

2.  ne  has  usually  the  sense  of  nor:  I  oive  hym  tione 
homage  ne  none  of  myn  elders,  74.35;  I  care  not  ne  I  doubte 
hem  not,   221.5." 

376.  nevertheles  occurs  both  alone  and  with  a  pre- 
ceding but. 

Zll.    neyder  —  nor,  neyther  ■ —  nor,  fieyther  —  ne. 
I .    with  neyther  omitted :    hors  ne  harneys  getcst  thou  none, 
222.1 1. 

378.    nor  (see  above). 

1.  tio  —  nor :  no  shame  nor  zylony,  227.24. 

2.  )ior  —  nor  (rare):   nor  for  zvele,  7wr  for  7000,  355.26. 

3.  ;/(;/  —  ;/(;;-.•  not  brysed  nor  hurte,  229.14. 

1  W.  (more  common):  I  nc  can  come  owte,  1S5.  W.  has  also  >ie  — 
ne :  Ther  ys  [«^]  kyng  ite  emperoure,  S8.  The  former  ne  is  a  con- 
jecture of  Mr.  Furnivall's.  It  may  be  a  false  insertion,  for  W.  has  else- 
where the  former  ne  omitted  :  Mete  ne  drynke  ne  getyst  ^lou  none,  212. 

-  A'ot  ne  at  242.24  is  difficult  to  understand,  unless  there  is  some 
omission  :   he  rode  here  and  there  and  wysie  not  ne  where. 


138  .  CONJUNCTIONS. 

4.  simple  no>- :  your  gretc  trauaill  nor  good  lone  shal  not  be 
'lost,   242.14. 

379.  nother  —  ne  (see  above) :  notJier  tny  frcnde  ne  my 
foo,   214.14.      Cf.   modern   Scotch   "nowther." 

380.  onles  (rare).  On  /cssc  that  is,  as  usual,  the  transi- 
tional staffe.  A  form  onks  t/iefine  that  occurs  once:  A^av 
said  sire  Launcelot  —  /  wil  not  telle  you  my  name,  onles 
thenne  that  jr  telle  me  your  natne,  346.26. 

381.  or  (see  outlier,  the  earlier  form),  disjunctive. 

I.  Or  els  has  practically  the  force  of  unless  in  two  cases  : 
he  gaf  jne  suche  charge  —  that  I  shold  ncuer  discouer  ('dis- 
close ')  hym  vntyl  he  requyred  me  or  els  //  be  knoiuen  openly, 
2 4 1. 28;  ful  lothe  I  am  there  shold  be  ony  bataille.  Ye  shalle 
not  chcse  sayd  the  other  lady  or  els  youre  knyghte  ivithdrawe 
hym,   675.10. 

382.  or  temporal  (by  confusion  with  the  preceding). 
Langland  has  the  prepositional  forms  ar  and  or.  (See 
Stratmann.) 

1.  Or  is  properly  a  preposition.  (For  the  earlier  ad- 
verbial and  nominal  forms  see  Stratmann,  under  Icr.)  Cf. 
or,  §  342. 

2.  The  transitional  stage,  as  usual,  is  or  that. 

3.  Or  as  a  temporal  conjunction  is  common  :  or  I departe, 

230.3- 

4.  Or  euer  is  a  common  intensive  form  ;    or  cucr  that  grete 

spere  brake,   192.(8.^ 

383.  outher  (see  eyther),  other. 

1.  outher  —  outher:  outher  they  shalle  be  ouercotne  —  outher 
els  they  shal,  etc.,  198.9. 

-  W.  For  I'OLi  schalt  worke  or  euer  l-ou  goo,  344. 


CONJUNCTIONS.  139 

2.  outher  {other)  —  or :  other  I  shal  enchcue  hym  or  blede  of 
the  best  blood  of  my  body,  66.4;   outher  I  wille  wyn)ie  worship 

—  or  dye,   236.25.^ 

3.  Outher  alone  means  'or  (elsej'  (cf.  §  366):  /  nylle  be 
slayne  outher  truly  be  ten,  223.4. 

(a)    Other  els  is  also  used  in  the  same  sense :    they  asked 

—  truage  —  other  els  themperour  loold  destroye  hym,  70.4. 

384.  sauf. 

1.  Sauf  is  properly  a  preposition  (see  §  345). 

2.  Sauf  that  is  the  intermediate  stage. 

3.  Sauf  as  a  conjunction  is  rare:  they  7?iyght  not  londe — - 
sauf  there  7C'as  another  sJiip,  691.27;  was  ope>t  7cnthqute  any 
kepynge  sauf  two  lyons  kept  the  enfre,  710.9. 

(a)  Sauf  onelye  occurs  in  Caxton's  Preface:  sauf  onelye  it 
accordeth  to  the  worde  of  god,  3.2. 

385.  so  (cf.  as,  i  359). 

1.  conditional:  /  graunte  the  thy  lyf  so  thou  wilt  be 
sworn,  etc.,  1S5.22;  All  your  entente  —  I  wylle  fulfylle,  soo 
ye  toyl  brynge  fne,  etc.,  193.9. 

2.  So  that  occurs  frequently  in  the  same  sense:  /  shal 
helpe  you  —  soo  that  ye  hold  me  a  promyse,  187.25;  he 
graunted  hym  so  that  he  loold  telle  hym,  189.7.  This,  doubt- 
less, shows  the  transitional  stage.  Indeed  the  underlying 
idea  of  manner  is  sometimes  plain :  /  7C'ill  not  take  your 
yeldyjig  vnto  me,  hut  so  that  ye  wylle  yclde  you  vnto  syr  kay, 
200.32. 

3.  So  is  common  as  an  introductory  illative  particle. 

4.  So  —  as,  so  —  that,  etc.  The  correlation  is  often 
very  loose  (cf.  as  —  as).  The  as  is  omitted  quite  regularly 
before  an  infinitive:  neuer  none  be  soo  hardy  to  doo  awey  this 
gyrdel,  694.9;  soo  —  7vhiehe  occurs:    I haue  none  soo  hyghe  a 

1  W.  If  my  flowers  ouher  fade  or  falle,  26S. 


140  CONJUNCTIONS. 

thyngc   ruhk/ie   7uere   worthy   to   siisteyne  soo   hyhe   a    suerd, 
698.9.     Cf.  §§  249,  359.3. 

(a)  Sometimes  this  loose  correlation  becomes  absolute 
anacoluthon :  syr  Laiuicclot  cncreased  soo  merueyllous/y  in 
7vorship  and  in  honojir,  therfor  he  is  the  fyrst  ktiyi/^  etc., 
183.12;  eyther  ktiyght  smote  other  so  han/  in  myddes  of  theyr 
shetdes,  but  .^7-  Gawayns  spere  brak,  142.17.  Sometimes  so 
is  followed,  not  by  any  conjunction  at  all,  but  by  a  preposi- 
tion :  Gareth  rode  soo  longe  in  that  forest  untyl  the  nyghte 
came,  263.23. 

386.  sythen  {syth{e),  syn)  sho'ws  the  regular  stages  of 
development,  (a)  adverb,  (b)  sythe  that,  etc.,  (c)  subordinate 
causal. 

387.  than. 

1.  Thenne  (adverb)  and  than  (conjunction)  are  usually  dif- 
ferentiated in  spelling  ;  but  sometimes  the  latter  is  used  for 
the  former.  (The  differentiation  was  not  firmly  established 
in  the  language  until  after  Elizabeth's  time.  Bacon,  for 
instance,   spells  the  word  then  in  both  senses.) 

2.  The  conjunction  of  the  second  member  of  a  compar- 
ison is  sometimes  loosely  omitted  after  tha7i,  particularly 
if  that  conjunction  be  yf:  N'ow  am  I  better  pleasyd  sayd 
Pryamus  than  (if)  thou  haddest  gyuen  to  me  al  the  prouyjiee 
and  parys  the  riche.  I  had  leuer  to  ha  lie  ben  torn  with  wylde 
horses  than  (that)  o?iy  7'arlet  had  wonne  suche  h7os,  178.1; 
and  yf  thou  haue  broughte  Arthurs  7vyf  dame  Gweneuer,  he 
shalle  be  gladder  than  (if)  thou  haddest  gyuen  to  hym  half 
fraunce,    167.24. 

3.  Still  more  irregular  is  the  correlation  at  699.16  :  a  grete 
whyle  the  thre  felatves  biheld  the  bedde  and  the  thre  spyndels 
than  they  were  at  certaync  that  they  7oere  of  nature!  colours. 
(It  is  possible,  however,  that  than  is  for  thenne,  and  is  meant 
to  begin  a  new  sentence.) 


CONJUNCTIONS.  141 

388.   that. 

1.  of  purpose  (^passim)} 

2.  of  result  {passim):  smote  the  other  knyghte  a  grete  buffet 
that  his  hors  tonied  tzvyes  aboute,  185.14;  I  shalle  pictte  an 
enchauntement  upon  hytn,  that  he  shalle  not  awahe,  186.14. 

(a)  But  so  that  is  used  also  in  the  same  sense.  The 
incipient  construction  of  that  alone  as  a  conjunction  of 
result  survives,  perhaps,  in  passages  like  the  following:  and 
soo  he  flewe  ouer  his  hors  tayllc  that  his  hebne  biitte  in  to 
the  erthe  a  foote  and  fnore  that  nyhe  his  neck  was  brohen, 
191. 31. 

3.  causal  (rare):  god  is  wrothe  zoith  the  that  thozo  wolt 
neuer  haue  done.,  61.10;  he  dredde  that  the  kjiy^tes  caste!  was 
soo  ?iygh,   209.33. 

(a)  The  following  passages  show  a  similar  use.  That  is 
equivalent  to  'in  that':  than  hast  begyled  me  foule  —  that 
thou  kepte  my  rynge,  262.37  j  f^^''  'K^iiif-'!  ioue  that  he  was  his 
vnkel,   689.27. 

4.  That  is  added  to  various  particles  to  give  them  con- 
junctive force.  In  all  such  cases  it  will  be  found  that  the 
root  idea  is  of  a  substantive  clause  governed  by  a  prepo- 
sition, or  an  adjective  clause  agreeing  with  a  noun.  The 
former  case  is  illustrated  by  the  conjunction  or  that;  the 
latter,  by  the   conjunction  while  that. 

(a)  That  added  to  adverbs  and  adverbial  phrases  gives 
the  conjunctions  as  that,  by  cause  that,  onles  that,  so  that, 
though  that,  whyle  that,  the  whyle  that,  the  Jtieane  zvhyle  that. 
The  conjunction  ivhan  that  is  derived  from  an  interrogative 
adverb. 

(b)  That  added  to  prepositions  gives  the  conjunctions 
after  that,  by  that,  for  that,  or  that,  sauf  that,  syji  {syth(en)) 
that,  tofore  that,  tyl  that,  vntyl  that. 

1  W.  sometimes  omits :   Nowe  helpe  Ins  lyne  were  dyght,  465. 


142  COAyi'A'CT/OXS. 

(c)  In  xf  that,  that  is  added,  by  analogy,  to  a  conjunc- 
tion.^ 

(d)  Most  of  the  forms  cited  above  are  common  in 
Chaucer.  The  Mortc  d' Arthur  differs  only  in  the  freer 
discarding  of  tJiat  from  old  forms,  and  its  free  application 
to  make  new  ones. 

389.  though,  thou-:,  (cf.  remarks  on  sytheii). 

390.  tofore  (cf.  remarks  on  sythcfi). 

391.  tyl  (inityl,  cf.  remarks  on  by  that). 

392.  vnto  (rare,  cf.  remarks  on  ly  that).  The  successive 
stages  are  as  follows  : 

(a)  vnto  the  tymc  that  thou  be  callyd,  etc.,  242.5. 

(b)  vnto  the  tyme  sire  la  cote  ma/e  tayle  was  hob;  352.18. 

(c)  v?ito  I  mette  wyth  one  of  thou,  240.4;  vnto  they  catne  to 
the  Bordoure,  349.12. 

393.  whan(ne),  (cf.  §  388.4,  a). 

I.  by  thcniie  is  sometimes  used  with  the  force  of  whan: 
by  than  they  zvere  redy  on  horsbak  there  zuere  vij  C  knyghtes., 
49.29;  by  then)ie  he  was  a  I  most  vnarmed  he  fell e  in  a  dedely 
swoune,  249.25;  by  thenne  then  (misprint  for  thou')  cofne  there 
thou  shall fynde  quene  Gueneuer  dede,  856.29. 

394.  wherfor(e)  (wetfor,  rare)  is  frequently  illative  in 
the  sense  of  therforc. 

395.  whether  (ivether,  rare)  is  properly  an  interrogative 
pronoun.  The  transitional  stage  is  seen  in  the  following : 
whether  that  I  lyue  or  dye,   206.33. 

1.  whether  is  used  without  a  following  f/-,  in  the  sense  of 
'  if ' :  to  wete  whether  he  ivy  lie  knowe  me,  2 17.9. 

2.  whether   is    used    expletively    to    introduce    a    double 

1  So  W.  Fekyll  or  idX?,  yf\<at  sche  be,  122. 


COXJUNCTIONS.  143 

question   (like   Greek   Trorepor) :    7vhct/icr  conicih   t/iis  of  the 
or  of  thy  souc,   102.17. 

396.  whyle,  7C'hy/cs{t),  (jvyk,  rare). 

1.  The  adverbial  phrases  are  the  mcanc  whylc,  this  meane 
whyle. 

2.  The  transition  is  plainly  shown :  allc  the  tuJiyle  the 
beest  drajike,  65.30;  the  vieaiie  7ohy/e  that,  130.5;  whyle  that 
{passiffi). 

3.  The  force  of  whyk  as  a  temporal  conjunction  some- 
times varies  slightly :  u<hyle  I  7vohl  haiie  take/i  you  to  nierey 
ye  wold  none  aske,  112.20  ('when');  syr  Laiincclot  swouiied 
and  laye  lo7ige  sty  lie  whyle  the  hennyte  eanie,  857.29  (■  until ')} 

397.  withoute  (cf.  remarks  on  hy  that)  is  used  in  the 
sense  of 'unless':  withoiete  he  doo  me  homage,  75.3;  ivithont 
ye  haue  my  eou/ieeill,  85.14;   without  ye  reseowe  me,  315.19. 

398.  with  this  and  -with  that  (cf.  remarks  on  hy  that) 
are  used  as  conjunctive  phrases  of  condition  :  JVith  this  — 
I  may  be  delyuerd  —  I  ivy  lie  doo  the  batail,  127.25;  we  wyl 
not  be  lothe  —  with  that  ice  kneive  yotir  name,  203.19. 

399.  yf  is  comparatively  infrequent  except  in  the  com- 
bination and  yf.  It  seems  likely,  therefore,  that  a/id  is 
regarded  as  the  ordinary  conditional,  and  that  yf  is  used 
to  avoid  a/id  and.  This  may  explain  the  persistence  of 
an  if  in  Elizabethan  literature.'"^ 

^  W.    Better  ys  me  )'iis  to  doo 

IV/iyte  yt  must  nedys  be  do,  3S3  ('since'?). 
2  \V.    The  vvyfe  seyd  "so  mutt  I  haue  hele, 
And  yf  H  worke  be  wrought  wele 
Thou  schalt  haue  to  dyne,"  241. 


APPENDIX. 


The  Syllabic  Value  of  the  Plural  -es. 

It  is  proposed  here  to  inquire  briefly  how  far  the  pkiral  -es  in 
the  Morte  d' Arthur  retains  its  original  syllabic  value. 

I.  Rejecting  from  the  count  those  nouns  to  which  the  sibilant 
sound  of  the  plural  sign  necessarily  adds  a  syllable  {dyc/ies, 
/ledges,  //losses,  etc.),  let  us  consider  first  those  cases  in  which  the 
plural  -es  may  be  referred  to  a  singular  -e.  If  this  -e  seems 
regularly  to  have  syllabic  value,  if  it  seems  to  be  felt  in  speech, 
then  in  these  cases  the  plural  -es  also  probably  had  syllabic  value. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  -e  seems  to  be  disregarded  in  the  singular, 
then  there  is  antecedent  probability  for  the  supposition  that  it  was 
disregarded  also  in  the  plural. 

Nouns  having  -e  in  the  singular  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes : 

(1)  nouns  in  which  the  -e  is  derived  from  old  French  or  old 
English  : 

French  —  reah/ie,  i/iesure,  i/iedecy/ie,  Jiere/ziyte,  etc. 

English  —  ivoode,  woii/ide,  tere,  scathe,  stede,  ivede,  throte,  etc. 

(2)  nouns  in  which  the  -e  is  excrescent,  added  usually  by 
analogy:  bedde  (O.  E.  bed),  cole  (O.  E.  col),  //lyrtlie  (O.  E. 
myrS),  threde  (O.  E.  j.ried). 

(3)  Now  the  number  of  nouns  assuming  this  analogical  or 
"decorative"  -e  is  very  great  {Rd//istedt.  pp.  5,  6,  37),  and,  what 
is  still  more  significant,  many  nouns  assume  it  or  drop  it  at  will : 

(a)  French  nouns  in  -r  appear  now  with  -e,  now  without:  toicr^e), 
ar}nour{e),  traytour{e),  bottleri^e),  dejioyr{e),  displeasyr{e). 

(b)  Many  other  French  nouns  show  the  same  indifference  : 
buffet{ie),  e/igy/t{e),  forest{e),  gardyn(e),  pray{e)  ('prey'),  etc. 


146  APPENDIX. 

(c)  The  variation  appears  even  where  the  French  original 
has  -e  :  c/iamJ>ajH(e),  entciit(e^. 

(d)  The  same  is  true  of  the  commonest  Enghsh  nouns :  hcrt{e) 
and  7Uood{e),  with  -e  derived  from  O.  E.;  deth{e)^  with  -e  ex- 
crescent. 

(4)  The  syllabification  of  these  nouns  can  hardly  have  been 
affected  by  the  presence  or  absence  of  this  arbitrary  -e  (cf.  §  26). 
Hence  it  seems  antecedently  probable  that  the  plural  -es  also  was 
losing  its  syllabic  value. 

II.  Of  those  -cs  plurals  which  are  not  to  be  referred  to  a 
singular  in  -t\  the  more  sitrnificant  cases  are  as  follows: 

(i)    French  nouns  in  -aunt. 

These  do  not  assume  -c  in  the  singular.  The  plural  is  either 
-J-  or  -cs :  sernamit{e)s,  mescreat{ni{c)s,  pjirsyiiaHnt{e)s,  ser- 
geauni{c)s.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  usual  accent  of  these 
words,  the  syllabic  value  of  the  -cs  can  hardly  be  assumed  when 
it  is  remembered  that  corresponding  nouns  in  Chaucer,  even  when 
oxytone,  usually  make  a  plural  in  z  (servauntz,  etc.,  Ten  Brink, 
228  and  226). 

(2)  French  nouns  in  -nicut. 

These  are  fairly  uniform  in  rejecting  -c  from  the  singular.  The 
plural  is  always  -es :  argumentes.,  eiichaimteuientys,  turncfuentys, 
instrumcntys,  etc.  In  Chaucer  these  nouns  commonly  have  an 
oxytone  accent,  either  primary  or  secondary.  But  in  Chaucer 
they  sometimes  make  the  plural  in  -s  (or  in  -z,  Ten  Brink,  228): 
instruments,  arguments,  Parlcnicnt  of  F'oules,  197,  53S  ;  pare- 
ments,  ornaments.  Legend  of  Good  Women,  1106,  1107.  In  the 
Morte  d'Artliur,  though  the  plural  is  always -^.r,  the  singular  is 
not  invariable,  such  forms  as  parlemente,  839.5,  and  poyntemeiite., 
845.29,  occurring  occasionally. 

(3)  French  nouns  in  -aii{le)  and  -ei/{/e). 

These  have  double  forms  for  both  singular  and  plural  :  bataille 
and  batail,  plural  bataillcs  and  batails ;  so  with  merueil{le)  and 
counceyl{Ie).  It  is  possible,  but  not  probable,  that  these  double 
forms  represent  two  pronunciations,  the  accent  hovering,  as  in  the 
case  of  many  French  nouns  in  Chaucer. 


APPENDIX.  ■  147 

(4)  French  nouns  in  -/,  -ay,  and  -ey  make  the  plural  in  -es  : 
maystry  (O.  F.  maistrie),  plural  maystryes.  So  partyes,  pal- 
fray  es,  count rtyes,  from  party  (O.  F.  parti),  pal/ray  (E.  K. 
palefrai),  count rey  (also  cojcntrc,  O.  F.  contree;  Chaucer,  contre). 
In  Chaucer,  plurals  in  -n'^  {-ies)  from  nouns  in  -j/6'  {-ie)  keep  or 
lose  the  svllabic  value  of  the  -cs  according  to  the  incidence  of  the 
accent  ;  plurals  in  -ccs,  from  nouns  in  -ee  {-c)  (as  contre),  lose  it  ; 
plurals  in  -ayes  and  -eyes,  from  nouns  in  -ay  and  -cy,  usually  keep 
it  (see  Ten  Brink,  225). 

English  plurals  in  -yes  (-/cs),  {ladyes,  bodyes),  the  accent  being 
on  the  first  syllable  of  the  word,  lose  the  syllabic  value  of  the  -es 
(see  Ten  Brink,  219). 

No  definite  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from  these  words  in  the 
Mortc  d\4rt/iur  until  the  accent  is  settled.  But  since  the  accent 
tended  naturally  toward  the  English  habit,  i.  e.,  away  from  the 
final  syllable,  the  syllabic  value  of  the  -cs  would  tend  to  be  lost. 
Occasional  forms,  such  as  the  plural  hakncis  (from  Iiackney),  point 
in  the  same  direction. 

(5)  Oxytones  in  -/<•/,  -nd,  -/v/ make  the  plural  in  -cs. 
French  —  anicndys,  bendys,  rcwardys,  etc. 
English  — fcldes,  zuyndes,  swerdcs,  lordcs,  etc. 

Though  these  nouns  are  uniform  in  the  plural,  they  are 
not  uniform  in  the  singular.  Cf.  such  forms  as  sJiclde  and 
frende. 

(6)  English  oxytones  in  -Ik,  -nk,  -rk  make  the  plural  in  -cs: 
folkes,  inonkes,  ihankes,  clerkcs,  workes.  Some  French  nouns 
in  -k  also  take  the  -es  plural  :   niockcs,  Jiaubcrkcs. 

(7)  Very  many  other  oxytones,  both  French  and  English, 
especially  those  in  -/,  -;',  -n  and  -/,  make  the  plural  in  -es  ;  but 
most  of  them  have  -e  in  the  singular,  and  many  of  the  others  are 
not  known  so  to  end,  simply  because  the  singular  happens  not  to 
occur  (cf.  5). 

III.  The  direct  evidence  for  the  syllabic  value  of  the  plural  -es 
seems,  therefore,  to  be  somewhat  slight.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
grounds  for  assuming  the  -es  to  be  merely  graphic  are  of  no  little 
weight.     They  are,  in  brief,  as  follows : 


148  •  APPENDIX. 

(a)  The  increasing  number  of  nouns  in  which  the  plural  is 
written  -s. 

(b)  The  indifference  witli  which  manv  common  nouns  take 
either  -s  ox  -es. 

(c)  The  fact  that  a  pkiral  in  -es  may  commonly  be  traced  to  a 
singular  haying  an  excrescent  -e  of  no  syllaljic  yalue. 

IV.  Still  further  confirmation  of  the  theory  that  the  plural  -^'j- 
is  merely  graphic,  is  given  by  the  following  cases.  The  French 
nouns  traytour  and  gardyn  sometimes  assume  -e  in  tlie  singular, 
but  always  make  the  plural  in  -s.  The  French  nouns  gysartfif, 
mo7itay)ie  and  aduentiire  derive  the  -c  from  the  old  French. 
Gysarme  and  7nontaytie  make  the  plural  in  -s.  Adtienture  is 
sometimes  written  adiieniur,  but  always  makes  the  plural  in  -es. 
Such  confusion  could  hardly  exist  if  the  -es  were  felt  in  speech, 

(a)  Incidental  confirmation  is  sometimes  given  by  the  geni- 
tive -es.  T/iryes,  with  adverbial  (gen.)  -es,  is  sometimes  written 
tJiryse.     The  pronunciation  was  probalily  the  same  in  both  cases. 

V.  But  no  positive  conclusion  can  be  reached  without  further 
knowledge  regarding  the  accentuation,  and  this  can  be  gained 
only  through  a  complete  examination  of  fifteenth-century  poetry. 


INDEX. 


The  references  are  to  the  sections  of  the  grammar. 

For  strong  rcris,  see  the  alphabetical  list  at  p.  49.     The  prepositiotis   are 
discussed  in  alphabetical  order,  pp.  10S-12S;   the  conjunctions,  pp.  12S-143. 


Ability,  fttay  and  can,  265  b,  274. 
aboutc,  with  the  infinitive,  259. 
abstract  nouns,  plural  of,  14. 
adjectives,  inflection,  26-30,  71. 

as  nouns,  45. 

in  -ly,  52  h. 

in  pairs,  46. 

adverbial  suffixes,  52. 
adverbs  in  -ly,  contract,  37. 

relative,  53. 

al,  71. 

all  thyng,  117. 

analogy,  in  ablaut  series,  .136,  13S, 
148,  151. 

in  weak  preterits,  172,  175. 

and  that,  88. 

anomalous  verbs,  2  sing.,  208. 
antecedent  omitted,  116. 
anticipatory  conditions,  210-212. 
apposition,  22. 

clauses  of,  230,  231. 

appositive  infinitive,  241-244. 
article,  gi-94.  . 

definite,  e.xpletive,  94. 

singular,  with  plural  noun,  15. 

that,  used  as,  91. 

arraunt,  185. 


arynoi  (ptc),  I  56. 

as,   in   compound  relatives,   53  b, 

64  b. 
as,  in  unreal  conditions,  213  a. 
aske,  314  a. 
attaynte  (ptc),  176. 
atte,  92. 

B 

Backer  (comv.),  39. 

be  (au.xiliary),  198,  264.    . 

benime,  314. 

berene,  314. 

beware,  followed  by  the  subjunc- 
tive, 232.  I  e. 

bothe,  72. 

brother,  10  c. 

buryellys,  14  a. 

hydde,  followed  by  the  subjunctive, 
232.  I  d. 

byscchc,  followed  by  the  subjunc- 
tive, 


Ca>i  (au.xiliary),  201,  265. 

cases,   confusion   of,    in   pronouns, 

81. 
caught  (pret.),  175. 


150 


INDEX. 


causal  clauses,  sequence,  261  cl. 
causative  auxiliaries,  266,  269,  271, 

273- 
certayn,  129,  324.  3,  334.  7. 

charge  (v.),  followed  by  the  sul> 

junctive,  232.  i  c. 
cotninande  (v.),  followed  by  the  sub- 

junctive,  232.  i  c. 
comparative,  32-34. 

of  adverbs,  39,  40. 

double,  41,  42. 

with  more,  42  a. 

complementary  final  clauses,  232, 

291  b,  303  a. 
concessive  clauses,  227,  261  e. 
conditions,    ideal,    210-212,    215, 

219,  230. 
unreal,    213,    214,    220,    288, 

302,  309. 

sequence,  261  a. 


consecutive  clauses,  225,  226. 
consonant  doubling,  159. 
contraction,  of  definite  article,  93. 

of  Romance  participles,  176. 

■  with  ne,  195. 

with  tJiou,  iCf-j. 

with  /(',  196. 

in  3  pers.  of  verljs,  17S. 

co-ordination,  loose,  255. 
costc  (pret.),  175. 

counceille  (v.),  followed  by  the  sub- 
junctive, 232.  I  c. 
coiier  (v.),  174  and  a. 

D 

Dar,  202. 

dative,  inflection,  11. 

neuter,  of  pronouns,  58. 

of  indirect  object,  20  a,  So  a. 

of  interest,  20  c.  So  b. 


dative  with  impersonal  verbs,   20 

b.  So  d,  e. 

with  adjectives.  So  c. 

delyner,  174. 

demonstrative     pronouns,    60-62, 

88-94. 
derivative   sufii.xes,  variations,    12, 

disconifyte  (ptc),  176. 
distracte  (ptc),  176. 
do  (auxiliary),  199,  266-268. 
double  comparative,  41,  42. 
doubling  of  consonants,  1 59. 
'    drede,  163. 
drenche,  164. 
dwelle,  163. 
dye  {deye),  169. 


-e,  in  adjectives,  27-30. 

in  the  preterit  of  strong  verbs. 


158. 


16: 


in  the  preterit  of  weak  verbs, 

in  the  nom.  sing,  of  nouns. 

Appendix. 
eche  other,  132. 
-eii,  plural,  7. 
eiitre  (v.),  174  a. 
■er,  F.  verbs  in,  174. 
ere,  34. 

-es,  plural,  Appendi.x. 
eiier,  in  compound  relatives,  64  d. 
euery,  77. 

eueryclic  other,  132. 
eytJier,  i  iS. 
otiier,  132. 


Fader,  10  c. 

farre,  34. 


INDEX. 


151 


fearing,  construction  with  expres- 
sions of,  290  b,  303  b. 

fete  he,  170. 

fctte,  pret.  and  ptc,  170. 

final  clauses,  222-224,  261  c,  290, 
291  b. 

complementary,  232,  291  b. 

form  est,  34. 

forth  dayes,  19. 

future,  periphrases  with  shall  and 

luill,  307. 
future,  periphrases  with  shold  and 

IV old,  308. 
fyers,  36. 

G 

Gadre,  174  a. 

gamen,  7  a. 

gar  (auxiliary),  269. 

general  relative  clauses,  21S. 

genitive  adverbial,  38. 

in  -es,  9. 

in  (y-phrases,  17. 

in  -s,  8. 

invariable,  10. 

in  -ys,  9  b. 

modified  by  an  (^/phrase,  18. 

neuter,  of  pronouns,  57. 

of  the  relative,  112. 

partitive,  with  numerals,  16. 

"  in  (/-phrase,  79. 

supplanted  by  his,  p.  21,  note. 

with  adverb  of  time,  19. 

gerundive  infinitive,  24S. 

gyrd  (pret.  and  ptc),  166. 

H 

Had  letter,  245  a. 
hdtan,  315. 

haue  (auxiliary),  260  a,  b,  and  note, 
270. 


herte,  10  d. 

hindering,  verbs  of,  246. 

hoole,  47. 

hurte  (pret.),  175. 

1'}'^''^^  34- 

I 

Ideal  conditions,  210-212,  215,  219, 

230. 
imperative,  inriection,  177,  182. 

expressed  by  shall,  283  a. 

expressed  by  will,  292  a. 

imperative  subjunctive,  235,  236. 
impersonal    verbs,    20  b,    80  d,  e, 

281,  312. 
indefinite    pronouns,     70-75,    77, 

1 17-129. 
indefinite  relative  clauses,  215-217. 
indirect  discourse,  sequence,  263. 
indirect  object,  20  a,  80  a. 
indirect  question,  228,  229. 
infinitive,  inflection,  177,  181. 

absolute,  250. 

active,  after  causative  auxil- 
iaries, 266,  269,  271,  273. 

active,  after  it  is,  319. 

appositive,    240  a,    241-244, 


319- 
gerundive,  24S. 

object,  245-247. 

of  result,  249. 

perfect  (with  haue)  for  pres- 
ent, 260. 

subject,  240-244. 

with     causative     auxiliaries, 

271-273. 

with/6ir  to,  2  38. 

with  and  without  to,  lyj. 

with  resumptive  to,  239. 


intensive  pronouns,  130,  131. 
interrogative  pronouns,  95-99. 


152 


INDEX. 


K 

Kindred,  nouns  of,  genitive,  lo  c. 


Lady.  lo  d. 
lassc,  48  b  (foot-note). 
lede,  163. 

let  (auxiliary),  271,  272. 
lake  (v.),  followed  by  the  subjunc- 
tive, 232.  I  e. 
longe,  34. 
-ly,  adjectives  in,  52  h. 

adverbs  in,  37. 

lye  ours,  37. 
h'ke,  334  6. 
lyteh  34- 

M 

Make  (auxiliary),  273. 

vtancr,  24. 

may  (auxiliary),  203,  274-278. 

in  final  clauses,  224  a,  277  a. 

in  ideal  conditions,  212. 

in  indefinite  relative  clauses, 

217. 
in  indirect  questions,  277  b. 


me  {men),  73. 

vierneylle,  25  a. 

moche,  48  b. 

nioder,  10  c. 

more,  42  a,  48. 

7niist  (auxiliary),  204,  279. 

myghte  (auxiliary),  274-277. 

in  final  clauses,  224  a,  277  a. 

in  ideal  conditions,  2 1  r . 

indirect  questions,  277  b. 


N 


Ne,  195. 

nede,  25  b. 

nere  (comv.),  34. 


>wiie,  121,  127. 
nouns  as  verbs,  23. 
numerals,    pronoun     construction 
with,  86. 

0 

object  clauses,  233,  234,  291,  303. 
objective,  adverbial,  21. 
objective  infinitive,  245-247. 
objects,  verbs  taking  two,  246,  314. 
obligation,  expressed  by  must,  279. 

•  by  nve  and  ought,  280, 

281  c. 

by  shall  and  shold,  282. 

offre,  174  a. 

old,  34. 

one,  1 19,  120. 

otiy,  122-124. 

other,  49,  74,  125-127,  132  d. 

02(ght  (auxiliary),  207,  2S0,  281. 

owe,  207,  280. 

otvnc,  I  30. 


Participle,  inflection,  177,  1S3-185. 

absolute,  253-256. 

modifying,  251,  252. 

reference  of,  252. 

Romance,  contracted,  176. 

of  weak  verbs  in  -enclte,  -enge, 

164. 

partitive  genitive,  16. 

passive,  315-319- 

perfect  (infinitive)  with  haue,  for 
present,  260. 

personal  and  impersonal  construc- 
tions, 312  a. 

personal  pronouns,  54-59,  76-87. 

l^luperfect  (with  had)  for  preterit, 
260. 

plural  (of  nouns)  in  -en,  7. 


INDEX. 


153 


phiral  (of  nouns)  in  -es,  Appendix. 

■ in  -J,  I. 

■ in  -ys,  3. 

invariable,  4-6. 

of  abstract  nouns,  14. 

witli  singular  article,  1 5. 

plural  (of  verbs),  177. 

in  -s,  180. 

in  -th,  179. 

possibility,  may  and  caUy  265  b, 
274. 

praye,  followed  by  the  subjunctive, 
232.  I  a. 

present,  anticipatory,  258. 

progressive,  257. 

preterit  and  participial  forms  con- 
fused, 142,  157. 

for  perfect,  262  a. 

for  pluperfect,  262  b. 

inflection,  186-194. 

of  weak  verbs  without  um- 
laut, 165. 

plural  assimilated  to  preterit 

singular,  152. 

2  sing,  of  strong  verbs,  186  a. 

2   sing,  of  weak   verbs,   191, 


208  a. 
2  sing,  of  anomalous  verbs, 

20S. 
prolepsis,  85. 

promise,  shall  and  ivill,  306. 
pronouns,    demonstrative,    60-62, 

88-94. 

indefinite,  70-75,  77,  11 7-1 29. 

intensive,  130,  131. 

as  subject,  131. 

interrogative,  95-99- 

personal,  as  indefinite,  128. 

• as  reflexives,  87. 

confusion  of  cases,  81. 

confusion  of  gender,  59. 


pronouns,  personal,  construction 
with  numerals,  etc.,  86. 

dative,  80. 

his    for     the     genitive, 

p.   21,  note. 

in  relative  periphrases? 


1 1  J- 

neuter  dative,  58. 

neuter  genitive,  57. 

(^'-phrase  for  the  geni- 

omission     of     pronoun 

subject,  82. 
partitive  genitive  in  of- 


tive,  78. 


phrase,  79. 

2  plur.  for  2  sing.,  76. 

3    plur.    for    indefinite 


sing.,  77. 

• reference  obscure,  84. 

repetition    of    pronoun 

subject,  83. 

reciprocal,  132. 

reflexive,  87. 

relative,  63-69,  100-116. 

antecedent  omitted,  116. 

■  omitted,  114,  115. 

periphrases  for  the  geni- 
tive, 112,  113. 

pronoun  subject  omitted,  82. 

repeated,  83. 

pyghte  (pret.),  172. 

pyte,  25  c. 


quyte  (pret.),  175. 


Raiaige,  10  d. 
reciprocal  pronouns,  132. 
recreaiiut,  185. 


154 


INDEX. 


reflexive  pronouns,  87. 

verbs,  313. 

relative  adverbs,  53. 

pronouns,  63-69,  100- 11 6. 

antecedent  omitted,  1 16. 

compound,  with  as,  53  b, 


64  b. 


with  that,  64  a,  i  oS, 


109. 


genitive,  112,  113. 

omitted,  114,  115. 

prolepsis,  85. 

clauses,  general,  218. 

indefinite,  215-217. 

reqtiyre,  314  a. 

rescowes,  14  a.  * 

resolve,  shall  and  will,  305. 

re  son,  25  d. 

result,  clauses  of,  225,  226. 

infinitive  of,  249. 

resumptive  to,  with  the  infinitive, 

239- 
reysed,  169. 


-s  plural,  of  nouns,  i. 

schryche,  169. 

self,  50,  87,  130. 

sende  (pret.),  166. 

sequence  of  tenses,  260-263. 

sette  and  sytte,  155. 

shall  (auxiliary),  205,  282-291. 

in  ideal  conditions,  212. 

in  indefinite  relative  clauses, 


217. 


of  injunction  and  threat,  283. 

of  necessity,  282  a. 

of  promise,  286. 

of  resolve,  2S7. 

of  simple  futurity,  284. 

and  zvill,  confusion  304-311. 


shold,    in    clauses    of    apposition, 

231  a,  289. 
— —in    final    clauses,    224b,   290, 

291  b,  c. 

in  ideal  conditions,  211. 

in  indefinite  relative  clauses. 


216. 

in  unreal  conditions,  214,  288. 

of  necessity,  obligation,  282. 

of  simple  futurity,  285. 

so,  followed  by  w/.;/f /^-clause,  104. 

in  compound  relatives,  64  c. 

s 0)71  vie,  75. 

southard,  52  f.  2. 

sprenge,  164. 

spyrytiieltees,  14  a. 

sterte,  169.  * 

stretche,  165. 

subject,  pronoun,  omitted,  82. 

repeated,  83. 

subjunctive  imperative,  235,  236. 

in  concessive  clauses,  227. 

in  conditions,  210-214. 

in   consecutive   clauses,   225, 

226. 

inflection,  177,  193. 

in  final  clauses,  222-224. 

in   general    relative   clauses, 

218. 
in  indefinite  relative  clauses, 


215-217. 

—  in  indirect  question,  228,  229. 

—  in  substantive   clauses,  230- 


^34- 


in  temporal  clauses,  219-221. 

substantive  clauses,  230-234,  289- 

291.  303- 
suche,  51. 

suffixes,  adverbial,  52. 
derivative,  variations,  12,  31, 


INDEX. 


155 


suffrc,  174  a. 
superlativ'e,  32,  35. 

• contract,  36. 

in  comparison  of  two,  44. 

with  (y"-phrase,  43. 

supposing,    verbs   of,   followed   by 

the  subjunctive,  234. 
syncope,  13,  160,  174. 
synncn,  7  b. 
syster,  10  c. 
sytte  and  sette,  155. 


Tcld  (pret.),  165. 

temporal  clauses,  219-221,  261  b. 

with  the  indicative,  221. 

with    the    subjunctive,    219- 

220. 
tenses,  sequence,  260-263. 
perfect  infinitive  (with  hanc) 

for  present,  260. 
pluperfect    (with    hacidc)   for 


preterit,  260. 
that,  after  so,  104  a. 

as  article,  91. 

as  compound  relative,  loi. 

in  the  sense  of  '  such,'  S9. 

as  simple  relative,  65,  100. 

in  compound  relatives,  64  a,  d, 

loS,  109. 
that  as,  I  TO. 
that  that,  68. 
thet,  60  (note  i). 
the  joliiche,  67,  102. 
this,  of  persons,  90. 
thirste  (pret.),  17  r . 
th7-yst  (pret.),  171. 
to,  resumptive   with   the  infinitive, 

239- 
two  objects,  verl«  taking,  246,  314. 


u 

Uniformity,  tendency  toward,  209. 
unreal   conditions,   213,   214,    220, 
288,  302,  309. 

with  protasis  implied,  213  b. 

iittcTinest,  34. 

w 

wallopt(e)  (pret.),  175. 

loard  (suffix),  52  f. 

ware  (pret.),  156. 

wayte,  followed  by  the  subjunctive, 

232.  I  e. 
weakening  of  strong  verbs,  1 53,  i  54. 
what,  adjective  use,  105. 

as  indefinite,  106. 

in  the  sense  of  ivho,  97. 

■ •  in  the  sense  of  why,  98. 

what  a,  97  a. 

wliat  that,  1 09  a. 

what-ivhat,  106  a. 

li'here,  52  g. 

whereof,  112. 

whether,  as  interrogative,  96. 

as  relative,  66. 

7vhether  as,  69. 

7vhiche,  after  so  and  sue  It,  104. 

— —  as  adjective,  102. 

whiche  that,  109  c. 

70I10,  as  interrogative,  99. 

— —  as  relative,  65,  107. 

7i'ho  that,  109  a,  b. 

whyle,  52  g. 

will  (auxiliary),  200,  292-303. 

followed  by  the  subjunctive, 

232.  I  b  and  2,  233. 
in  complementary  final  claus- 


es, 303  a. 

—  of  promise,  299. 

—  of  resolve,  292.  i. 


156 


INDEX. 


will  of  simple  futurity,  300. 

of  willingness,  296. 

of  wish,  294. 

and  shall,  confusion,  304-31 1 . 

wish,  expressed  by  will  and  'wold, 

294,  295. 
expressions    of,   followed  by 

the  subjunctive,  232,  233. 

followed  by  shall,  291  c. 

followed  by  shold,  291  b, 


310. 


followed  by  wold,  310. 

wold,  after  verbs  of  fearing,  303  b. 
in  complementary  final  claus- 
es, 303  a. 


wold  in  the  apodosis  of  unreal  con- 
ditions, 302. 

of  customary  action,  298. 

of  intention,  301. 

of  resolve,  293. 

of  willingness,  297. 

of  wish,  295. 

wonder,  25  e. 


y-,  prefixed  to  ptc,  194. 

-yd,    variant    in    pret.     and    ptc, 

190. 
J/A  34- 


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